Chūnin Exam: Revamped
by Crow's Gamble
Summary: Let's go back to the Chūnin Exam, but let's change things up a little. Same characters, same plot, different fight pairings, different outcomes. The matchups you always wanted to see with the characters that fate did not pit together. Beginning with the preliminary round and ending with an ultimate victor, the Chūnin Exam has now been revamped.
1. The Preliminaries Begin

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Naruto**_**; I am merely a fan who enjoyed the series enough to recreate the ****Chūnin Exam arc with different matchups. If you have not read or watched Masashi Kishimoto's **_**Naruto**_**, you are missing out and should immediately stop reading this disclaimer and check out the real thing. If you have gotten past the Chūnin Exam, you will hopefully find this an interesting fanfiction. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: The Preliminaries Begin**

**Rock Lee vs. Misumi**

All of the gathered ninja stared at Kabuto, largely in dismay, as he raised his gloved hand in surrender of a competition he apparently had no energy left to be a part of. He had made it to the competitive stage of the Chūnin Exam, and after everything he had been through with Team 7 in the Forest of Death, his sudden withdraw shook up his comrades.

"Kabuto…" Sakura muttered under her breath, trying to fathom his logic. The exam proctor, Hayate Gekkō, glanced through his dossier of the genin participating in the Chūnin Exam.

"You're…Kabuto, right?" Hayate coughed. "You may leave now…" Naruto's face visibly dropped as Hayate eyed the rest of the genin. "Umm…does anyone else want to retire? Oh…umm…I forgot to tell you that from here on it will be individual battling. You may raise your hand based on your own judgment." Before anyone had a chance to answer, Naruto had already rounded on Kabuto.

"Kabuto! Why are you quitting?! Why?!" Kabuto frowned and tipped back his glasses.

"Sorry, Naruto…but those Rain ninja really kicked my ass, and I haven't been able to hear from my left ear since we got attacked by those Sound ninja before the first exam. And now, we'll have to risk our lives? I just…" Kabuto trailed off apologetically, smiling weakly as Naruto lowered his head, utter disappointment on his face. Kabuto waved his hand, bidding his fellow ninja adieu as he walked away. Sasuke felt a shiver of pain course throughout his body, the power of the curse mark taking its toll on him. Sakura observed him with concern.

Hayate coughed, drawing everyone's attention back on him. "Umm…now…there's no one else retiring, right?" Sakura started to raise her hand, but Sasuke gripped it menacingly.

"Don't you dare say a word," he muttered, his eyes boring into hers with an intensity she had never seen. Defeated, she lowered her hand, and Hayate surveyed the group nonchalantly.

"Umm…now…let's begin the preliminary. The preliminary will consist of one-on-one fighting. You are to fight as if it is a real life confrontation. Since we now have exactly twenty entrants, we will conduct ten matches and…umm…the winners will advance to the third test." Hayate paused for a momentary coughing spasm, and the group watched with apprehension as he continued as though nothing had happened. "There are basically no rules. The fight continues until one of you dies or is knocked out or admits defeat. Umm…if you don't want to die, then quickly acknowledge your defeat. But (cough) when I decide that the winner has been clearly established…umm…since we don't want to pointlessly increase the amount of corpses, I'll jump in and stop things. And the object that controls your destiny is…"

The genin snapped to attention as a low humming filled the room. The back wall began to shift as a large screen was unveiled. "Is this," Hayate finished. "This electronic scoreboard will…show the match-ups for each fight. Now this is sudden, but let's announce the two names of the first fight."

Everyone faced the screen nervously in anticipation. The first name appeared. Misumi Tsurugi. "That is one of Kabuto's teammates," Sakura whispered to Naruto. The two turned and faced Misumi. He was slightly taller than Kabuto, wearing thin rimmed glasses and a black mask that concealed his face from the nose down. Although he was a Leaf ninja, there was something off about him.

"OOH!" Naruto spun around to see Rock Lee jumping up and down in excitement. "If you aren't first, you're last! Isn't that right, Guy-sensei?"

"I couldn't agree more, Lee," Guy appeared beside his prodigy, a gleam in his eyes. "Some higher power must have recognized your worth. Congratulations!"

"Sensei!" Lee burst into tears, passionately wrapping his arms around his sensei's midsection.

"It's okay, Lee!" Guy sobbed. "You've earned this!" Hayate coughed.

"Umm…could you speed this along? Everyone is waiting on you…"

"Just give us a moment," Guy wiped his eyes. "Now Lee, remember, never underestimate your opponent!"

"Yes, Guy-sensei!"

"This boy is much more experienced than you, so be wary of any tricks he might try to pull."

"Yes, Guy-sensei!"

"And if you lose, you've got to do ten laps up and down the Hokage Monument on your hands!"

"YES, GUY-SENSEI!"

"NOW GO GET 'EM, LEE!" Lee flashed his fellow genin a wink, accompanied by a thumbs up and a blindingly toothy grin, before stepping up. Hayate scratched his head for a moment.

"Now…we will be starting the first match. Umm…will everyone except the participants move to the upper level?" The ninja quickly shuffled their feet to get a good position above the lower level, the entirety of which was the battlefield for this preliminary round. Naruto found Kakashi and eagerly followed him, Sasuke and Sakura trailing behind him. Sasuke raised his collar as he walked past Kakashi, hoping that the jōnin had not noticed his curse mark. Kakashi did not say anything, but pulled out his favorite book as Guy approached him with his students.

"That's my Lee out there," Guy said proudly. "Wait 'till you see him, Kakashi. He is the picture of perfection, a boy in the prime of his life, burning with the flames of youth! How could your students hope to stand a chance against mine?" As he turned to fully face Kakashi, he saw that his rival was engrossed in his reading. Looking up, Kakashi's visible eye went blank for a moment as he appeared to be dazed.

"Sorry…did you say something?" A vein in Guy's temple throbbed, and he clenched his fist but would not get angry. It was what Kakashi wanted.

"Well-played, my rival," he turned his back and muttered. Kakashi merely scratched his hair looking slightly confused before turning back to his book. Down below them, Lee squared off against Misumi. The older genin flexed his fingers.

"I'll warn you now. If you face me now, you won't come out of this alive. Withdraw."

"Not a chance!" Lee exclaimed, his jaw set firmly in place.

Hayate looked at both of the combatants before stepping aside. "You may begin."

"Hah!" Misumi yelled, running at Lee in a dead sprint. Naruto, who had seen Lee's incredible speed firsthand, knew that Misumi's speed was nothing special; something Lee immediately exploited as he jabbed at his incoming target. Lee's fist was aimed straight for Misumi's chest, but the latter jumped over Lee early, causing Lee to change his target to Misumi's arm.

"That was a mistake!" Misumi yelled as Lee's arm connected.

"I don't think so…what the…?" Lee's eyes widened as Misumi's arm contorted around Lee's fist, flexibly wrapping around Lee's arm.

"I told you, you aren't coming out of this alive," Misumi hissed in Lee's ear as he quickly trapped Lee's second arm with his own.

"This jutsu…you're extremely flexible!" Lee exclaimed in admiration. Misumi's muscles almost slackened in shock at the stupidity of Lee's realization, but he held firm and head-butt Lee before wrapping his legs around Lee's waist.

"Ouch…that was uncalled for!" Lee sounded angry as his legs grew shakey and he fell to the ground.

"Last chance, kid. Give up. I'm not gonna let go of you."

"You aren't letting go of me?" A smile came over Lee's face. "That makes this easier on me then."

"What the hell do you mean, brat? You can't do anything to me right now!"

"It's true, you've constricted my movements," Lee acknowledged, "but not all taijutsu is dependent on punches and kicks. Eat this!" Lee found strength in his legs as he pushed himself off of the ground with his enemy still bound around his upper torso. The bigger genin held tight as they soared high into the air, even above the upper level, but when Lee turned upside down, Misumi realized what Lee was attempting and instantly loosened his hold as he attempted to escape. He gasped as Lee, unravelling the bandages wrapped around his arms, successfully caught and restricted Misumi.

"What is this?" Misumi asked angrily.

"This is…Guy-sensei's fountain of youth!" Lee exclaimed triumphantly. "You seem oddly-jointed, so I will just have to break them all!" Misumi screamed in terror as Lee began rotating clockwise. In less than a second, he was spinning as fast as a tornado, kicking up wind with his body as he headed toward the ground with his enemy.

"Primary Lotus!" Lee screamed as they smashed the ground. The spectators all gasped in shock as the dust cleared, Misumi's crumbled form contrasting with Lee's perfectly straight figure. Hayate looked down at Lee's opponent carefully.

"Winner of the first match: Rock Lee!"

"All right, Bushy Brows!" Naruto jumped down in excitement, running to Lee. Sakura followed, as did Lee's team. "You were awesome!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Thanks, Naruto," Lee blushed in a vain attempt to be modest.

"That WAS pretty impressive," Sakura grinned.

"You made it past the preliminary round!" Tenten cheered.

"You're still a loser though," Neji commented. Lee wiped his eyes, sentiment evident on his face.

"Thanks a lot you guys," he sniffed. The group went silent as Guy approached Lee.

"I won, Guy-sensei!" Lee exclaimed overjoyed.

"Lee, you…" Lee felt a solid kick in the face as Guy sent him flying across the floor. Everyone looked away awkwardly as Lee tumbled and crashed on the floor until he finally broke through a wall, halting his painful progress.

"Sensei?" Lee asked weakly, blood dripping down his lip.

"You are only supposed to use the Lotus to protect someone important to you! What if you tear up your muscles from using the Lotus so much? What if you are unable to use taijutsu?" Guy berated Lee, the latter who teared up.

"I'm so sorry!" Lee cried, falling to his hands and knees, bowing repeatedly in an attempt to please his sensei.

"Ah! To be young!" Guy embraced Lee as the duo reconciled.

"Umm…" Hayate coughed. "Excuse me, but it's time for the next round…"

"Oh, yes! Sorry!" Guy and Lee quickly jumped to the upper level, leaving Hayate alone in the fighting area.

"Alright. Umm…the second round's combatants are…"

**Winner: Rock Lee**

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**Author's Note: As per a reader's request, Naruto was the next fanfiction series I decided to start. My series begins after Chapter 65 of the manga, and will continue until the entire tournament is over. No fight pairings will be repeated from the Chūnin Exam arc in the manga, and I will slightly alter the storyline so that the entire exam is finished before the fight between the Sand and Leaf begins; I was always very irritated that the attack couldn't have waited until after a finalist had been declared. Plus, there are a few fights I know I have always wanted to see (as well as numerous other Naruto fans) so I will enjoy seeing how they play out. **

**Crow**


	2. War of the Chubbies

**Chapter 2: War of the Chubbies **

**Chōji vs. Temari **

"Chōji Akimichi and Temari! Umm…will you guys please get down here?" Hayate asked. Temari, the eldest of the dreaded Sand Siblings, was down in an instant, eager and ready for battle. She had pulled out an enormous fan and was tapping her foot impatiently. Shikamaru eyed her cautiously as Chōji turned to Asuma.

"She's from the Sand!" He whimpered, crossing his arms. "Count me out!"

"Chōji…" Asuma put a hand to his face, weary at what he had anticipated might be a problem for his team. Cowardice.

"Forget it, Asuma-sensei! I'm just gonna forfeit!" Chōji stubbornly protested.

"Really? That's too bad…I heard that she called you fat," Asuma muttered. Chōji's face grew pink for a moment, but he shrugged it off.

"You ALWAYS say that when you want me to do something," he retorted.

"You coming, fatass?" Temari yelled up at Chōji. Chōji's face went bright red, his pupils dilating in disbelief as a vein throbbed in his temple. His teammates could have sworn they even saw steam coming out of his ears as his arms came up in a fury and he roared.

"I'M NOT CHUBBY! I'M PLEASANTLY PLUMP!" And with that mighty declaration, Chōji was standing with Hayate and his opponent.

"Took you long enough," Temari sneered. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised though; fatties are usually pretty slow."

"I'm just big-boned!" Chōji argued. Temari snorted.

"Oh, please. You've got more meat than an elephant!"

"Umm…guys? Can we start?" Hayate asked. Chōji nodded, his jaw locked in place. Temari merely smirked. "In that case (cough), let the second match begin!"

Before Temari could even blink, Chōji's arm had elongated and expanded, fury still on his face. "CHUBBIES RULEEEE!" He howled, swiping Temari with it. She placed her fan in front of her, blocking most of the damage, but still being thrown back by the incredible amount of force packed into Chōji's attack. She was able to land unscathed by pulling her fan beneath her and gliding safely to the ground, saving her from the painful crash landing that she would have endured. Before she could even reposition herself, Chōji had transformed into a monstrous ball that was spinning at a high frequency.

"What a shocker; chubby has a technique that makes himself even fatter," Temari muttered irritably. In his fleshy form, Chōji's ears were obscured and he could not hear Temari's insult, but he attacked with the same ferocious vigor nonetheless.

"Temari!" Her brother Kankurō yelled as Chōji barreled down at her. Temari was fast enough to avoid his attack, but his bulky body was cracking the concrete floor beneath them. His control was somewhat sketchy due to the amount of speed and rotation that accompanied his technique, and he crashed into the wall, creating a crater-sized hole, which he dizzily reverted to normal size within.

"Are you done rolling around like a pig?" Temari asked, to which Chōji angrily jumped to his feet.

"Hey, I might be the biggest guy here…but you're the biggest girl!" Temari's eyes grew wide in disbelief at this underhanded slap to the face.

"What…what…what did you say?" She glared daggers at him, which he blatantly ignored, turning around and grinning upward to his fellow Leaf ninja.

"It's all clear now. This is why she likes to insult me so much. She must have been teased as a child for being so fat!"

"For your information, tubs, I'm not fat! I'm a woman!" Temari declared, placing her hands on her hips. Chōji snorted.

"What do you guys think?" Naruto squinted down at Temari before his eyes lit up.

"Yeah! She is a little chunky!" Temari's eyes burned brightly.

"She's definitely a woman...I think…but she's also got some meat on her bones," Shikamaru commented, to which Temari's face contorted angrily.

"Get that fatass, Chōji!" Ino cheered.

"ENOUGH!" Temari screamed, whipping out her fan and swinging it at Chōji. A mighty gust was generated, causing Chōji to slam into the wall once more. Some pieces of rock fell and hit him in the head, causing blood to drip down his face as he collapsed to the ground. Kankurō watched the scene sympathetically.

"That Leaf brat's done it now," he muttered to Baki. "No one calls Temari fat and gets away with it." Indeed, Temari was sending wave after wave of gusts at Chōji. Having seen his ability to expand his body, she maintained her distance. Due to her lack of proximity, her gusts weren't supremely powerful, but every time he tried to get up and attack her, she would slam him back into the wall, wearing away at his stamina and health with each blow.

"Chōji! Don't move forward to attack her!" Shikamaru yelled down below. Everyone turned to stare at him; even Temari paused in spite of herself to hear him elaborate on this absurd statement.

"Are you crazy, Shikamaru? She's kicking my butt right now!" Chōji responded, but Shikamaru shook his head.

"Run away and bring her to you!" Chōji looked around in confusion before his eyes lit up.

"Ohh! Thanks Shikamaru!"

"What is that idiot blathering about?" Temari demanded. Chōji clenched his fist in triumph.

"Follow me!" He exclaimed, his fist expanding. Temari sunk back in a defensive posture, but was astonished when he used it against the large hole in the wall that he had created with his earlier attack. A large portion of it broke apart, and Chōji began hammering in deeper with an incredible stamina that no one, including Shikamaru and Asuma, could have expected of him. Temari watched him blankly for a moment before she realized that he was retreating further into the wall.

"Get back here!" She exclaimed angrily, hopping on her fan and flying after him. Hayate had to dash behind her, maintaining a safe distance but observing the match where the rest of the spectators had largely lost sight. As Temari began to tail him, Chōji turned around and sent his oversized fist forth. In her eagerness to catch him, Temari flew right into it, and was consequently punched out of the tunnel Chōji had created. Landing painfully back in the eyes of the gathered ninja, she hopped back to her feet.

"You're dead!" She screamed, swinging her fan. A gust of wind went down the tunnel, but it was too deep to deal any real damage. Observing the width of the tunnel, just big enough for a fat guy to get through, she concluded that she could not swing her fan within the tunnel for maximum efficiency.

"Shit," she muttered. _Why did that stupid fatty's friend have to interfere? In the closed confines of the tunnel, I can't swing my fan far enough to generate wind, but he can still punch me. He purposely became a trapped rat so that he could scratch the powerless cat…_

"Temari…" Temari felt a shiver down her spine and looked up to see Gaara looking down at her with disdain. "It's time to end this."

"Yes, Gaara," she said. Powerless cat or not, she could still defeat a rat.

From the end of the tunnel, Chōji made out the silhouette of his ruthless opponent as she walked slowly within the tunnel. "What are you standing around for?" She asked. "Let's finish this."

"Fine by me!" Chōji exclaimed. His arm began to expand, causing Temari to laugh derisively at him.

"Are you crazy? You don't have the range to attack me from there!"

"Perhaps not normally," Chōji replied, "but by using all of my reserves of calories and chakra, my reach can go surprisingly far. This is my final attack!"

"Bring it on!" Temari taunted him, apparently still not at all threatened by the possibility that Chōji's reach could be longer than what she had seen.

"Here I go!" Chōji yelled, all of his chakra focused solely in his right arm. "AHHHH!" He screamed, and his arm flew forward. All of the ninja outside gasped and Hayate had to hurl his body aside as Chōji's arm flew powerfully out of the tunnel and across battle stage, connecting all the way with the other wall. Rubble scattered the floor as his fist lodged deep.

"Did…did I get her?" Chōji panted as his arm retracted, his heart beating and sweat and dirt matting his face. He slowly walked out of the tunnel, blinking uncomfortably as he returned into the blinding light. As his blurry vision cleared, he gasped as a foot made contact with his stomach, causing him to collapse to the ground in pain. Temari stood before him triumphantly.

"Looks like I'm the winner," she said. Chōji grinned weakly.

"I guess so…how did you survive that attack?"

"I used a Clone Jutsu after you forced me outside. I hid to the side while I waited for you to exhaust your energy on my clone. Because the entire tunnel is covered in shadows, you didn't even notice that I did not have one. It was a good plan you had, but in the end, you got defeated by such a simple tactic. How disappointing."

"She's…a bit of a bitch," Naruto muttered disdainfully as Chōji collapsed to the ground vomiting. Hayate looked at him with some concern.

"And the winner is Temari!" He exclaimed, before he turned to the nearby medic ninjas who were stationed near the Hokage. "Can you guys give Chōji some attention?"

"There's no need for that," Asuma said as he appeared beside Hayate, looking down at his fallen subordinately fondly. "Not unless you plan to hook him up to an IV that can get some meat in his system quicker."

"What…(cough) what is that supposed to mean?"

"Look for yourself." Asuma pulled Chōji's shirt up, revealing a stomach that looked sucked in, skin pressed tightly against his very visible ribcage, and cold sweat dripping down his entire torso. He looked as though he had not eaten for days.

"You really did your best, didn't you, Chōji…?" Asuma hugged his student close before lifting him up in his arms. "Stay awake, Chōji! I'm gonna order you an all-you-can-eat buffet!" Chōji lifted his arms up joyously as Asuma began to carry him away. Temari began to walk away as well, but was stopped by Chōji's voice.

"Hey, Temari. I said some mean things out of anger, but even though you're chubby, you are an extremely cute girl," Chōji flashed her a thumbs up as he was carried away. Temari's face went red once again, but whether she was blushing or furious, it was impossible to tell.

"Humph!" She returned to the upper level, where Baki congratulated her on her victory. Kankurō sensed her agitation and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Temari," Kankurō tried to comfort his sister, "you really aren't that fat. You're just maturing really fast for a woman and…"

"Shut up, Kankurō."

**Winner: Temari**

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**Author's Note: To expand on my intentions for this series, battles between the genin are obviously the primary focus. Of course, I will be bypassing the parts that drag out. I am not saying that there is absolutely no chance for any romance, but I am trying to keep things action-packed and humorous. While Chōji is not my favorite character, I felt he deserved a better fight during the Chūnin Exam than he got with Dosu. This was an extremely enjoyable chapter and I hope you guys enjoyed the outcome! **

**Crow**


	3. Grudge Match

**Chapter 3: Grudge Match**

**Neji vs. Dosu**

"Well…it looks like I'm up," the genius of the Hyūga clan crossed his arms, an air of satisfaction about him. Tenten giggled.

"You've been waiting for this, haven't you?" She smirked. Rock Lee faced Neji.

"Neji, do not fail!" Lee exclaimed. Neji closed his eyes and turned away haughtily.

"Please, if a failure like you can make it past the preliminaries, of course I'm not going to have any problems." Lee's body stiffened.

"Yes, but…he manipulates sound with that metal gauntlet on his arm. He does not even have to make contact with you for his attacks to be effective!"

"I assumed as much when the Sound ninja ambushed Kabuto before the first exam," Neji replied. With his enhanced vision, he knew a trick had been at work when Kabuto's glasses shattered and his ear started bleeding, despite having successfully dodged Dosu's attack. "Don't worry. He's finished."

"I see…then I shall see you in the finals!" Lee winked, flashing his signature thumbs-up and grin.

"Good luck, Neji!" Tenten cheered.

"Pfft…whatever." Neji jumped to the lower level with the air of a child getting an early birthday present. He pointed his finger up. "Hey! You're not going to keep me waiting are you?"

"My apologies." Dosu of the Sound ninja landed in front of Neji. "Why so impatient?"

"Don't forget," Neji growled, "Lee might be a loser…but he is still my teammate! The moment you harmed him, you accepted the wrath of the Hyūga clan."

"Oh?" Dosu's visible left eye squinted in malice. "So what?"

"Humph..."

"Are you guys ready?" Hayate asked, sensing the bloodlust between the two. Dosu raised his arm in preparation as Neji slunk backwards. "Begin!"

Neji's continence changed almost instantly, numerous veins popping in his face as his eyes grew focused. Dosu lowered his arm momentarily, feeling a chill down his spine as he remembered his encounter with Neji in the Forest of Death. "Hey, hey!" Naruto turned to Rock Lee and pointed at Neji's face. "What is that?"

"That is the Byakugan," Lee responded, his body trembling as well. "Granting him amazing insight and perception…I have never come close to defeating Neji while he used it. It's an extremely powerful weapon, even more so than Sasuke's Sharingan!"

"Humph!" Sasuke turned away, ignoring the unintentional jab at his pride. "It's useless if it can't stop Dosu's sound." Dosu eyed the spectators with disdain before turning back to Neji.

"Clearly," he began carefully pacing around Neji, "I am being underestimated."

"Not really," Neji retorted. "From the moment you drew me as your opponent, you were destined to face a humiliating defeat."

"You are mistaken," Dosu growled as he continued to circle Neji. Neji laughed derisively and closed his eyes.

"I never make mistakes."

"Then what was that?" Neji opened his eyes surrounded by a large group of Dosu's clones.

"Cheap shot!" Naruto yelled at Dosu, the latter who did not so much as look at him.

"It takes a cheap trick like this for you to think you've gotten the better of me?" Neji sneered. "Just like a cockroach, you are a persistent pest."

"A cockroach?" Dosu's clones echoed with him as he felt slapped by the insult that he frequently used on the Leaf ninja in the Forest of Death.

"No," Neji shook his head. "You're more on par with a maggot. An ugly, vile, disgusting creature born in excrement and filth."

"A…a maggot?"

"Of course. You cover yourself in bandages to try to escape from your deformities. Your flaws are still perfectly visible to everyone though, you hunchbacked mummy."

"Hunch…me…what did you just…?"

"I thought I was pretty clear. Face it; you have no talent or ability. At least your teammate had the guts to physically get his body altered to improve his skills, but you…you were too frightened to even do that. Without your gauntlet, you are nothing but an ugly frightened child in an oversized raincoat."

"That's enough!" The Dosus put their hands to their heads, Neji's psychological attacks showing some effect.

"And you know what the worst part is? I know exactly where you are. Your parlor tricks won't save you from being squashed by me, bug."

"Wow! Neji totally has the upper hand!" Kiba exclaimed, looking at Hinata with admiration. "Even with Dosu's Clone Jutsu, his mentality is being completely overwhelmed."

"They haven't even started fighting yet though…" Hinata muttered.

Kiba shrugged. "A lot of a fight is determined by the mental state of your opponent. Neji's talent would probably guarantee him the win regardless, but now, it is a sure victory. Shino…what's with you? You've been antsy for the last few minutes."

There were dark shadows beneath Shino's eyes and his eyebrow was twitching. "What," he spoke slowly with a forced calm, "did Neji say about bugs?"

"N…nothing," Kiba and Hinata both laughed nervously.

Dosu's clones were the opposite of Naruto's shadow clones, simple illusions that could not harm a fly, but could deceive a lesser opponent. Thanks to his Byakugan, however, Neji immediately set his sights on the genuine article and charged. Dosu gasped in surprise as his enemy quickly closed the gap between them. "You're finished!" Neji's hand shot forward.

"Oh no!" Dosu screamed alarmed as Neji went for the death blow. A foot away, six inches away, centimeters away…"Just kidding," Dosu squinted and beneath his bandages, Neji beheld a wicked smile. For all his prodigious talent, Neji found his arm deflected by Dosu's gauntlet with a reaction time unexpected for the stocky Sound ninja. As Dosu swiped away Neji's arm with a loud **ring**, Neji grew dizzy and felt his earlobe throbbing.

"Damn!" Neji cursed his stupidity as he attempted to visualize his surroundings. His world was a haze, and Dosu ominously stepped forward, his figure contorting back and forth in the eyes of the disoriented Neji.

"I heard you talking earlier to that freak with the heavy brows," Dosu taunted. "You really should have listened to your teammate. Turns out he knew a bit more than you." Dosu swung his arm at Neji. Neji reached out to block it, but discovered that he had drastically miscalculated as Dosu's fist connected with his gut. As Dosu redirected the sound with his chakra, Neji encountered an agonizing bout of pain, coughed and fell to the floor, saliva trickling down his chin.

"Damn…he got Neji," Lee lamented to Tenten. She frowned.

"Why doesn't he just use his defensive technique?"

"If he were sure where Dosu is, that would be an effective solution," Lee muttered thoughtfully, "but right now, his perception has been completely altered. Dosu doesn't know about Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation yet. If Neji uses it and misses, he will have wasted his chakra, and worse, Dosu will be aware of it and take out Neji with long distance attacks. Neji would have to use the Palms Rotation to deflect what could be easily avoidable attacks under normal circumstances, which would result in him spending all of his chakra and…"

"And ensuring his defeat. I've got you," Tenten grimaced as Neji vomited across the floor. "Gross!"

Neji panted on the ground as Dosu sinisterly approached. "Let's try this again," Dosu chuckled. "Clone Jutsu!" With the reemergence of Dosu's doppelgangers, Neji found himself even more disoriented. They all seemed to merge together into one massive cluster, and though Neji knew approximately where the original was, he could not identify which of the figures in that area was real.

"It's time to end this," Dosu pulled out a kunai and began to walk towards his weakened opponent. Neji slowly rose to his feet. "Wonderful, you're opening your throat for me so this will be less messy," Dosu commented appreciatively.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Neji sighed. "You're destined to face a humiliating defeat." A vein in Dosu's forehead popped up.

"I think it's time for you to die now!" Dosu charged at Neji with his weapon aimed at Neji's throat. Everyone watching inhaled sharply as they awaited the fearful outcome, until they heard the one set of words that restored hope for the Leaf ninja.

"Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation!" Dosu's eye widened as chakra was released from Neji's body, completely blocking Dosu's assault, and as Neji spun his body rapidly, Dosu went flying several feet away, landing roughly on the ground.

"Grr! How?" Dosu demanded. "Even with your special eyes, you shouldn't be able to focus enough to see me right now!"

"You're not the only one that can make use of sound," Neji replied smugly. "I admit I've become a little rusty when it comes to using my other senses effectively, but make no mistake, illusions don't make a sound when they are running. It doesn't take a genius to see past your Ninja Academy antics."

"Well, Mr. Genius, I'm not out just yet," Dosu stood up infuriated. "And from here on out, I won't make a sound, nor will I get anywhere close to you."

"Oh? Don't you understand? This is the humiliating defeat that I promised you." Dosu opened his mouth to retaliate, but screamed as his arm exploded. It hit the ground with a melodic thud, and as his face contorted with pain, he shifted his gaze on Neji who stood before him calmly.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Do you believe in destiny?" Neji walked towards Dosu, staggering slightly, but still quite composed. "Destiny is always ironic. Always. My inheritance of the best skills of the main house is fate's design, retaliation against the Hyūga clan for killing my father."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dosu wailed in agony. Neji glared at him.

"It is fitting that a warrior of sound is defeated by sound. It is also fitting that the weapon Lee first noticed in your arsenal is what has ultimately disabled you."

"My first weapon? What do you…?"

"Look," Neji held a piece of paper between two fingers. Dosu peered at it for a moment before he gasped. "Recognize it?"

"A letter bomb!"

"Exactly. I slapped one on your gauntlet in the middle of my Palms Rotation. It's over." Dosu's face grew painful as he stared at Neji. Though he could not read the expression very well thanks to his distorted senses, Neji had the strong feeling that Dosu was looking past him.

"No…NO! WE AREN"T PAWNS!" Dosu howled, charging at Neji, but his fate was decided. Easily calculating his enemy's proximity by the sounds of his footsteps, Neji activated Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation once more as Dosu entered his range, thrusting his opponent to the ground once more. This time, Dosu stayed down.

"Winner…Neji!" Hayate declared, to which Neji was bombarded by cheering from most of his fellow Leaf ninja. As Neji looked up at his two rejoicing teammates and his embarrassingly emotional sensei, he smiled a small smile.

_Anyone who harms my comrades is destined to be defeated by my hands. _Neji had won his clash with a ninja that he would never admit had been one of his most difficult opponents, but Neji knew that he could only go higher. As he held his head high with pride, a sharp pain permeated throughout his skull. Gasping in surprise, Neji collapsed to the ground. Hayate and Guy ran over to him concerned. Neji saw their mouths moving, but could not hear anything that was being said. Tenten and Lee also jumped down and began talking; no doubt they were asking if he was okay. With the fuzzy visions Neji got of everyone, he felt the strangest urge to laugh as Lee's exaggerated gestures and motions came across Neji's mind like a foreign tribal dance. Tenten's lips seemed to stretch out as she spoke, and Guy had no body; he was merely a mullet atop a pair of wide eyes with thick eyebrows. Another person had approached him as well.

"Father?" Neji whispered, reaching out gently. As a soft hand gripped his, he realized with a start that it was Lady Hinata. He withdrew his hand resentfully, but as she leaned forward and he was mesmerized by her eyes, the same eyes that he shared, he allowed her to grip his hand as he lost consciousness.

**Winner: Neji**

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter took longer than the first two for me to put together. Part of the delay can be attributed to an inconveniently timed power outage in which I was unable to recover about two pages, but the rest of the delay is simply because Dosu isn't an easy character to hype up when he's up against a boss like Neji! It was a grudge match though, so it had to have a certain degree of epicness. And for the guest who commented that Neji did not know Rotation during the preliminary round, just because he didn't use it against Hinata in the original series doesn't mean he didn't know it. Stay tuned for Naruto's fight in the next chapter!**

**Crow**


	4. A Story of Love and Failure

**Chapter 4: A Story of Love and Failure**

**Hinata vs. Naruto**

"Is Neji…gonna be okay?" Hinata asked her sensei Kurenai Yūhi.

"I talked to the medic; Neji will be just fine," Kurenai smiled comfortingly. "He's nauseous and he's gone temporarily deaf, but other than that, he's okay. No permanent damage."

"Unlike Dosu," Kiba commented, shuddering as he remembered the Sound ninja's arm exploding. "I'd hate to go up against anyone that could calmly mutilate someone like that!"

"Yeah…" Shino muttered. "I don't like Neji."

"Poor Dosu," the Sound ninja's teammate Kin muttered to Zaku. "What did he mean by that last thing he said?"

"About us being pawns? I dunno…" Zaku frowned. "Something to do with Lord Orochimaru?"

"Umm…it's time to begin the next match," Hayate interjected, effectively ending all discussion as the screen flashed. Everyone gasped.

"Hinata and…Naruto?" Kurenai muttered with a sense of dread that few shared. Then again, few knew as much about Hinata as Kurenai.

"You've got this, Hinata!" Kiba howled with glee. "You're so lucky, getting to fight a loser like Naruto!"

"Kiba…I…" Hinata's words were drowned out by Kiba's rude victory dance, complete with a song and accompanied by Akamaru's barks. Perceptive Shino looked at his timid comrade with concern.

"Hinata…are you going to be okay?" Shino asked her.

"Why wouldn't she be?" Kiba exclaimed, interrupting Hinata who had hesitantly opened her mouth to respond. "She's got this in the bag!"

"Thanks, Kiba," Hinata muttered sadly as she walked away.

"What did I say?" Kiba asked surprised, catching the mood. Shino spared Kiba a disdainful glance before turning back to watch Hinata join Hayate.

"…Idiot…"

"Sakura, it's Hinata," Naruto whispered. "What do I do?"

"Well, duh! Obviously you whoop her ass!" Sakura exclaimed. Naruto intertwined his fingers hesitantly.

"Yeah, but…" Sakuro grabbed his hair and pulled his face close to hers.

"Listen, Naruto, I don't know what happened between you two, but you're enemies right now. If you want to be the Hokage, you've got to fight."

"She's right you know." Naruto spun around in surprise to find Kakashi, book still in hand, watching Naruto with a slightly amused expression on his face. "You wouldn't hesitate to fight Sasuke if you had the opportunity, so why should Hinata be any different?"

"Well, she's a girl! And she's so timid and she tried to help me during the written examination…" Kakashi smacked Naruto over the head at this, to which Naruto, tears blurring his vision, stood up angrily. "Kakashi-sensei! What the hell was that for?"

"Don't you EVER underestimate your opponent the way you just did. Kunoichi are just as qualified to be ninja as you and me. And don't be distracted by her timidness or your friendship with her. You saw Neji's fight just a moment ago. Hinata is also a member of the Hyūga clan, the most powerful living family of the Leaf." Naruto's eyes lit up at this.

"She's from the strongest family of the Leaf village? Hmm…guess I should establish myself here and now then!" Kakashi's eye closed as his mouth curved into a smile beneath his mask.

"That's Team 7's knuckleheaded ninja. Give her hell, Naruto!"

"Thanks, sensei!" Naruto rubbed beneath his nose with a wild grin on his face as he jumped down to join his opponent. After she was sure he was out of earshot, Sakura turned to Kakashi.

"Did you mean what you told Naruto? Hinata is part of the strongest family?" Kakashi chuckled slightly.

"Well…I did say that," he said, "but I wonder if Hinata will meet Naruto's expectations..."

Naruto faced Hinata confidently. "You might be from the Hyūga clan, but I'm going to be the Hokage someday!" Hinata's face went beat-red.

"I…I know you will, Naruto…"

"You don't believe me?" Naruto growled, completely mistaking her shyness for sarcasm. Her eyes widened in horror.

"No! No…that's not what I…"

"Enough! Let's get to it!" Naruto exclaimed. Hayate nodded.

"Let the fourth round begin!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed, the hand signs as natural to him now as breathing. Hinata gasped as five Narutos appeared.

"They're just illusions!" Kiba hooted gleefully. "Not even a problem for Hinata!"

"Are they?" Shino asked, peering carefully at Naruto. "If that is the case, why do they have shadows?"

"Solid clones?" Kiba asked doubtfully. "Where would a dunce like Naruto pick up a move like that?"

"They're real," Kurenai muttered. "Even Hinata's Byakugan won't be able to distinguish the fakes from the genuine article…" Hinata had already realized this, having activated her kekkei genkai to no avail.

"Naruto…you're amazing," she muttered in admiration. All of the clones grinned.

"You bet I am! Here I come!" Hinata pulled a kunai out of the pouch on her right leg and sank into a defensive posture as the clones descended on her. As two of the clones lunged at her, she stabbed forth, shanking one in the stomach and performing a backflip over her second assailant as the punctured doppelganger disappeared with a puff. Before this Naruto clone could even turn around, she had placed her hands together and thrust forth powerfully, sending the Naruto flying. As it hit the wall and exploded, the other three Narutos looked at each other in surprise. Joining together, two of them lifted the third by the feet and tossed him in the air before charging at Hinata. Surprised, Hinata threw her kunai at one of the grounded Narutos and charged straight at the other one. She was able to avoid the blow of the aerial Naruto as she tackled her second assailant to the ground. As the two Narutos who had been on the ground disappeared, the real Naruto stared at his opponent.

"How did you know they were all clones?" He asked. His face fell as he took in her stressful complexion.

"I didn't…" She replied, perspiration leaking down her face. _But after watching you for so long, I knew you would want to be the one playing the most dramatic part…_

"Poor Hinata," Kurenai muttered, truly pitying her protégé that she had invested so much time in. It was clear to her, very clear, that this fight was Hinata's idea of a nightmare. The very thought that she might hurt the real Naruto was taxing her far more than the physical exertion it took to defeat multiple opponents.

"Wait a second…" Kakashi muttered as he watched the fight. "This whole fight sounds very familiar to me…"

"What do you mean, sensei?" Sakura asked him curiously. "Did you ever have to fight against a Hyūga?"

"No…it's not that," Kakashi thoughtfully put a hand to his chin. "This…resembles a climactic moment of _Make-Out Paradise_. Chapter 8 to be precise."

"…"

"Hinata, what are you doing?" Naruto exclaimed indignantly, drawing Sakura and Kakashi's attention back to the fight. Hinata's trembling hand was raised, but it lowered at Naruto's outbreak.

"I'm…I'm going to forfeit. I don't want to fight you, Naruto…"

"What are you talking about? You can't just back out," Naruto protested. Hinata shook her head.

"You…you were the one person I did not want to fight…" Naruto opened his mouth flabbergasted.

"Me? Why would a girl like you be afraid of a guy like me? I mean, yeah, I'm great, but you're part of the Hyūga family!"

"I'm sick of hearing you say that!" Hinata burst out angrily. Naruto looked taken aback and Hinata placed her hand to her mouth, quite ashamed of her outburst. "I'm sorry…it's just, I'm nothing special. I'm a failure, Naruto…don't treat me like I'm special because of who my family is…"

"You're not a failure!" Naruto's angry voice surprised both Hinata and the rest of their genin peers. "I don't think you're special because of who your family is…and yeah, I thought you were a little weird at first, but you are a really cool girl! A worthy opponent and I would really like to find out how this match will end!"

"Exactly like _Make-Out Paradise_, except lacking the romantic attitude of a sophisticated adult," Kakashi muttered as the exchange continued. Hinata's face had grown pinker and pinker as Naruto passionately complimented her until she was a vivid shade of red.

"You…really think that highly of me?" Hinata asked. Naruto grinned.

"Of course! You're much cooler than that jerk Sasuke!"

"That seemed unnecessary," Sasuke muttered from the side.

"Well…if you really think so…I'll give it my all!" Hinata assumed an offensive position.

"Great!" Naruto grinned. "Now let's try this again! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Just as before, there were now five Narutos confronting Hinata.

"Think carefully, Naruto," she muttered. "I'll be targeting your vital points, and this time, I'm aiming for the real you."

"She's confident now…" Shino muttered, a hint of pride in his voice as he watched his comrade. The Narutos grinned.

"Take your best shot!" They simultaneously yelled as two of them charged at Hinata.

_This again?_ Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu was an impressive technique, but she had been sure that he had more up his sleeve than this. She whipped two kunai out of her pouch and hurled them both at the incoming Narutos. The first one was hit straight in the head and disappeared with a loud burst of smoke that consumed the second one. As the smoke cleared, Hinata was confident her kunai had achieved its mark as she faced the other three Narutos. Wait…

"Damn!" Hinata uncharacteristically swore, diving to the ground to avoid the three shuriken that had been hurled at her. Her Byakugan gave her enough insight to avoid them, but the smoke created by the vanishing clones had hidden the weapons well. She quickly stood up as she was confident the shuriken had passed, but as she heard a loud puff behind her, three more Naruto clones were now attacking her.

"Hyah!" Hinata punched two of them in the gut and head-butted the third. As all three disappeared, the other three Narutos stared at Hinata in shock.

"Damn, I was sure that would work! How were you able to react that quickly to my transformed clones?" Hinata pointed to her eyes.

"My Byakugan can see nearly 360 degrees," she explained.

"Wow! So you can pretty much see out of the back of your head!" A Naruto exclaimed.

"Awesome!" Another said.

"But not enough!" The third howled as the trio charged at her, lifting one and tossing him in the air once again. As they closed in on her, she looked directly into the eyes of the one in the air.

_I see you, Naruto. I've always seen you, nobody but you. If I defeat you…will you see me too?_

"There!" Hinata screamed, and seeing his chakra points, she thrust her hands forward. Everyone gasped in shock as she caught Naruto in the chest. Chakra surged into the unperceived nodes, and he coughed blood up as the other two clones disappeared.

"Incredible! Did Hinata win?" Kiba exclaimed excited, despite his earlier boasting that Naruto would not prove a difficult opponent.

"I'm sorry, Naruto…" Hinata looked up at him. Naruto shook his head.

"Don't be. It was a great fight…but it had to come to an end…" POOF!

"What the hell?" Everyone gasped and Hinata was left with no opponents.

"That knucklehead," Kakashi sighed as Naruto, who had been cleverly disguised as part of the arena, suddenly burst up from the ground, landing an uppercut on Hinata and sending her flying backwards into the ground.

"Whew!" Naruto clenched his fist triumphantly. Glancing towards the spectators, he cupped his hands together and yelled. "Hey! Old man Hokage! Tell Konohamaru this is how a REAL ninja uses deception!"

"Naruto…" The Third Hokage chuckled to himself, remembering the brat that had not so long ago desecrated the sacred Hokage Monument.

"Naruto…" Hinata coughed on the ground. "How did you…?"

"Ah! Well, allow me to explain!" Naruto grinned. "After I created my second set of clones, I decided that I needed a distraction that your Byakugan couldn't see through. From watching Neji, I also knew that close combat was your forte, and it would probably be dangerous for me to get close while you were alert. I decided that I would use one of my clones and lead a frontal assault while the rest of my clones hung back. You assumed we were both clones, and tried to dispatch of us using kunai. When you hit the first one, the smoke blinded your perception and I quickly camouflaged myself with the arena. I made you think that the smoke was a trap so my clones' shuriken would come as a surprise attack, and even after that, the shuriken being more transformed clones would seem like a trap within a trap. All the while, I was carefully waiting for my moment to strike."

"When did Naruto get so smart?" Kiba looked around for an answer, finding none. Everyone was too engrossed in Naruto's explanation.

"Recreating my earlier attack, I realized that you hadn't even tried to attack the real me earlier because you were able to identify it as me in the first place. Maybe something about my attack gave me away, and I realized if you knew that, this time around, that would be your first target. When you immediately attacked it, I dispelled my other two clones and snuck up behind you while you talked with the one you assumed to be me. Then I dispelled him, got my sneak attack in, and won the match!"

"Naruto…" Hinata closed her eyes with a grin. "I'm glad it was you." Hayate looked down at her.

"Winner…Naruto!"

"He did it!" Sakura screamed with excitement. Naruto had looked up at his sensei and her, grinning proudly at his well-earned victory. As Sakura approached him, however, a strange look came over his face. "Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"And so, the proud maiden has been defeated!" Naruto began talking, his voice deeper than usual which caused Sakura to raise her eyebrows. "But the real loser is me, for my heartache and thirst for love may never be quenched. And yet…as I stare at her, I cannot resist my natural instincts. As a man…" Sakura's mouth dropped as Naruto hunched over Hinata, pressing his lips against hers deeply. "Her lips…truly, they are paradise."

"Paradise?" Sakura spun around to find Kakashi with his mask pulled down, Sharingan spinning. As he realized Sakura was staring at him, he pulled his mask back up with an awkward cough. Naruto blinked and jumped a mile when he realized that he was lying on top of Hinata, his lips moist with an unfamiliar flavor.

"Was I…did I just…?" Naruto glared at Kakashi, quickly realizing what had happened. "Did you just hypnotize me, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Now I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Kakashi innocently replied.

"I'm not a part of your sick fantasies!" Naruto huffed, turning away with a red face. Kakashi placed his hand comfortingly on Naruto's head.

"Oh, come on now; don't be that way. I'll treat you to ramen after the preliminaries are over." Naruto began to salivate, his embarrassment easily forgotten in the face of this tantalizing reward.

You promise?

"Would I lie?" As Naruto walked away cheering, Sakura fixed her eyes on Kakashi who sheepishly scratched his head.

"It was _Make-Out Paradise_ up until the conclusion…I figured I might as well give it a better ending than an adolescent hothead can provide. First rule of a good story: a good chapter just can't end until the hero kisses the girl."

**Winner: Naruto**

* * *

**Author's Note: There are a wide variety of opponents that would have been interesting to pit against Naruto, but for Hinata, if it wasn't Neji, it could only be the love of her life! I had so many ideas for this chapter, but it turned out far better than even I expected, though I pray my immodest pride can be forgiven. You guys have been treating me good, so this chapter is dedicated to everyone that wanted some romance. You're welcome. Just remember that romance does not play a huge part in this story, so don't get your hopes up for any pairings. Look out for the next chapter!**

**Crow**


	5. Chakra Thief

**Chapter 5: Chakra Thief **

**Shino vs. Yoroi **

"Damn! I can't believe Naruto actually beat Hinata!" Kiba slapped his face in disarray. "This is so not cool!"

"It was a good fight," Shino replied, shifting his gaze towards their fallen comrade, who had been relocated by Kurenai to a nearby cot. No one foresaw Hinata being out of action for very long, but she was still unconscious, it had been concluded from a minor concussion.

"Hinata lost the prelims, but you two still have a shot," Kurenai said. "Do your best!"

"Of course," Shino crossed his arms and faced the monitor. He jumped out of the way as Kiba began to howl in delight, attempting to thump Shino violently on the back.

"Two in a row!" He said excitedly as Shino's name popped up. And his opponent was…

"Yoroi Akadō..." Shino muttered. As he appeared in front of Hayate, he got his first good look at his Shino had been the tallest of his graduating class at the Ninja Academy, Yoroi towered over him by at least half a foot. Shino found himself irked by how similar his opponent resembled him: tall, wearing dark sunglasses, a hint of mystery about him. The older genin appeared to share the same sentiments.

"Well, well…looks like I've got a fan," Yoroi snidely commented. He reached out and poked Shino in the forehead, causing his opponent's glasses to slip. Yoroi chuckled as he took in the look on Shino's face. "Those sharp eyes…you must really want to hurt me right now." Shino ignored Yoroi and as he pushed his glasses back up, turned to Hayate.

"Shall we begin?"

"Please." The two shinobi instantly jumped into action. Utilizing a tiger hand seal, Yoroi created four water clones. Naruto gasped from the sidelines.

"It's just like what Zabuza always used!"

"Impressive," Shino stated simply, eying the clones cautiously.

"Damn right," Yoroi retorted. "And if you think that is impressive, just wait until I catch you!" And with that, the clones all charged at Shino with Yoroi bringing up the rear. Shino punched towards the first clone, only to find his hand blocked. Yoroi laughed.

"You don't have the physical strength to defeat even my clones, let alone me!" Beneath his high, upturned collar, Shino cracked a rare smile.

"You should never underestimate your opponent, no matter how small or weak they may appear to be." Yoroi yelled in alarm as his clone, with Shino's fist still caught in its hold, suddenly disappeared with a violent splash.

"What the hell happened?" Yoroi demanded, his clones stopping short of Shino, now aware that he had a trick up his sleeve. This literally appeared to be the case as a tiny black beetle crawled up Shino's finger from beneath his sleeve.

"Kikaichū," Shino explained, and as he raised his hand, more of these repulsive bugs gathered around his hand. "They are my primary weapons, as well as my friends. You cannot defeat us. Forfeit. I cannot promise you will come out of this alive if you do not surrender now." Yoroi growled.

_This bastard is getting cocky just because he can summon a few bugs. It wouldn't take a lot of chakra to summon bugs in the first place though…and the more he summons, the harder it will be. Perhaps they have venom that was strong enough to dispel my clone? Whatever the case may be, once he runs out of chakra, he can't summon them anymore…Easy enough!_

"Never!" Yoroi declared, and with a defiant yell, Yoroi and his remaining clones charged again, throwing shuriken as they proceeded. Shino pushed his hand forward, a swarm of insects meeting and deflecting each projectile from the clones. Yoroi looked outraged as more insects appeared, which Shino hurled toward another clone, destroying Yoroi's wet companion with a single creepy strike.

"Where are these pests coming from?" He yelled in frustration. _Calm down, Yoroi. You've got this. _

"You're mine!" Yoroi descended on Shino with a new air of confidence. Shino appeared surprised by the sudden aggression of the attack, and realizing he still had two clones also on him, he opted to sacrifice his defense in exchange for two successful blows, eliminating the rest of Yoroi's attackers. Unfortunately, Shino was wide open, and Yoroi tackled him to the ground, his hand latched onto Shino's chest. Shino gasped as he felt his strength being ripped away from his body.

"What is that bastard doing to Shino!?" Kiba yelled aloud. Kurenai squinted as her subordinate began to writhe on the ground.

"He appears to be absorbing his chakra…"

"You've been a real pest to me," Yoroi breathed in Shino's ear as he absorbed more and more of Shino's chakra. Shino was losing the strength to retaliate, and Yoroi watched relieved as the bugs on Shino's arm receded and appeared to vanish altogether.

"Where are your bugs now?" Yoroi taunted.

"Hehe…" Shino sounded extremely bemused, despite his fatigued continence. Actually…_is it just me or does this bastard look more energetic? _Yoroi frowned beneath his mask as he continued to suck Shino's chakra, only to find that his enemy was looking better and better. As Yoroi began to panic, his arms suddenly felt heavy and he collapsed on top of Shino. Shino shoved Yoroi off of him and stood up, very much energized.

"I'm…losing my energy…" Yoroi crawled on the ground helplessly, his strength being completely sapped away. Shino looked down at him coolly.

"That's a powerful ability you have, being able to absorb chakra. So how, you ask, was I able to recover mine? Well, let me tell you. Or perhaps you have the energy to turn your head?"

"Turn my head?" Yoroi weakly cranked his neck, finding a swarm of bugs crawling inside his gloves. "AHHH!" Yoroi threw his gloves off, but the kikaichū were still feeding on his energy. One crawled on Shino's finger as he pointed at Yoroi.

"Perhaps you are wondering what the kikaichū diet consists of. Please pay attention; I'm not going to repeat myself twice. The kikaichū thrive on chakra."

"Chakra? You mean…?"

"Correct. We had the exact same ability, ergo different mediums. As a human, you are restricted by your own power. Two hands can defeat most enemies, but only if you can catch them. On the other hand, I have hundreds of thousands of "hands."

"But how…did you have the energy to keep summoning these bugs?"

"Summoning? You seem to be suffering from a disillusion. They live inside me, surviving on my chakra, obeying my commands. There is no trick to my strength; they are an extension of me."

"But I had you…I caught you and if I had absorbed your chakra, your bugs would have been screwed too!"

"The spider openly invites other creatures into his web because the web is, in fact, a trap to begin with. There were more than enough kikaichū lurking around; I just needed your attention focused on me."

"You LET me catch you?" Yoroi writhed on the ground. "Bastard…"

"Actually," Shino snapped his fingers, "I'm the winner." In an instant, a swarm of bugs had descended on Yoroi, the latter who screamed at the top of his lungs. Hayate looked closely before he shouted in alarm.

"That's enough! There is a clear winner!" As the bugs drew back to Shino, Hayate erupted into a coughing fit as Yoroi's mangled body was sprawled on the ground. Tiny bite marks covered him from head to toe, blood oozing from his wounds freely on the floor. His sunglasses had been shattered and it was clear that his eyes had rolled to the back of his head. His neck was twisted extremely unpleasantly, and Sakura's voice rang through the silence.

"Is he…dead?"

Hayate pressed two fingers to Yoroi's neck carefully as everyone waited with baited breath. It…would appear so," he said regretfully. "Broke his neck."

To most of the gathered genin, Yoroi was an unknown, but Naruto still felt a surge of remorse. This had been Kabuto's teammate. A bit of a jackass, but a furious warrior, and one Naruto couldn't help but respect.

"Kakashi-sensei…did he have to die?" Kakashi scratched his head, not too sure how to respond. It had been hard enough getting Naruto to understand the deaths of Haku and Zabuza, but that had been a war of ideals that showed Naruto what it truly meant to be a shinobi. This fight, on the other hand, was a mere competition, a battle of strength. It was a necessary part of the Chūnin Exam, but even for a jōnin like Kakashi, it left a bitter aftertaste.

"Naruto…when two ninja battle, there is more on the line than victory or defeat. They are gambling with their pride, staking their ideals and their very lives on the outcome. It doesn't matter if it is during a mission or a competitive match; there is always more on the line than just the fight." Naruto's lower lip trembled and Kakashi could tell that he was extremely unsatisfied with the answer. "Someday you'll understand."

"Shino! Congrats on the win, man!" Kiba exclaimed as his stoic-looking teammate rejoined them.

"Of course," Shino replied. "I expect you to do the same." Kiba irritably brushed off his teammate's cockiness before turning his attention back to Yoroi.

"That was pretty clever how you allowed Yoroi to absorb your energy, only to have your bugs recirculate it back to you."

"I thought so. It took a little bit of time to attach enough bugs to him to the point that I was absorbing more chakra than he was, but when I reached that point, my victory was assured. It's a pity he had to die though…we really were similar, even with our abilities. He just had the wrong attitude…"

"Damn that bug bastard…" Kankurō muttered several feet away. He looked around nervously before using his peripheral vision to observe Gaara. His little brother had been growing restless ever since Neji had blown Dosu's arm off, but now, there was a wicked smile on his face, veins starting to pop in his eyes as he shivered in delight. "These Leaf ninja are about to wake up a sleeping giant…"

Temari placed her hand on Kankurō's shoulder. "Maybe Gaara will have calmed down by the time his match begins," she said hopefully.

"Yeah! Most of these guys look pretty weak…if they are as pathetic as they look, Gaara's demon might go back to sleep!" Kankurō whispered excitedly.

"It is time for the next match!" Hayate interrupted loudly. "Umm…the next match will be…Ino Yamanaka versus Gaara. Would you two get down here?" Kankurō and Temari stared at each other in horror as their brother disappeared with a flicker of sand.

"Shit."

**Winner: Shino**

* * *

**Author's Note: The preliminaries are now half over! I wanted to get Shino's fight out of the way because one reviewer guessed this pairing before I even had the chance to finish the chapter! Moving on to the next round at this point are Rock Lee, Temari, Neji, Naruto, and Shino. The remaining fighters include Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba, Tenten, Gaara, ****Kankurō****, Zaku and Kin. Gaara's fight with Ino won't be as epic as the original one with Rock Lee…but it is hard to top that!**

**Crow**


	6. Declaration of War

**Chapter 6: Declaration of War **

**Ino vs. Gaara**

"Temari…this is bad," Kankurō muttered nervously. "This is really, really bad…"

"Kankurō, calm down!" Temari said, but sweat trickled down her forehead even as she said this. She knew that look in Gaara's eyes. He was bloodthirsty under normal circumstances, but when the _inner Gaara _came out…carnage ensued.

"Well…guess I'm up," Ino said, looking at her teammates. Shikamaru looked down at her enemy nervously.

"Ino…I'm getting a bad vibe from that guy…"

"Well, no joke. He's got some dangerous looking eyes," Ino said, "but I'm a kunoichi. I'll be fine." She jumped down besides Hayate.

"Umm…you guys may begin," he replied. Ino yelled in alarm as the cork on Gaara's gourd went flying off, sand slinking out eerily.

"What…what the hell is that?"

"Silence," Gaara commanded, arms folded together as the sand expanded and shape shifted around. Ino gasped as it formed an identical but sandy version of her opponent. Stretching its arm out, the hand extended forth with a surprising speed.

"What is THAT?" Sakura stared at Gaara's clone with a mixture of awe and disgust.

"Sand clone," Kankurō spoke nearby, causing the attention of Naruto and Sakura to center on him.

"What do you mean?" Naruto demanded, approaching the Sand ninja cautiously. Kankurō's gaze was fixed on his younger brother in disdain.

"Gaara can control sand in any way imaginable," Kankurō watched as Ino narrowly dodged the wicked attack, hesitating a moment before she screamed.

"OH MY GOD!" Ino took off in a dead sprint, running back and forth with the sand clone in hot pursuit.

"Ino! What are you doing?" Shikamaru hollered at her. "If that thing catches you, it'll kill you!"

"Shut up! I know that!" Ino screamed, and she whipped out a pair of kunai, hurling them at Gaara while she was on the fly. Gaara did not so much as blink as they soared toward him, and Ino was severely disappointed as they were both caught by a wall of sand.

"What the…?"

"What is that jutsu?" Shikamaru asked Asuma. "He isn't even making any hand seals!"

"My guess would be a kekkei genkai? I'm not sure…" Asuma frowned. _But it definitely isn't something that a normal ninja can use._

"I'M SO SCREWED!" Ino screamed as she resumed her running. Shikamaru turned to Asuma fiercely.

"There's no way she can win this! That sand automatically blocked her kunai; there's no way Ino can physically break through!"

"Shikamaru! You know as well as I do that brute strength isn't everything! If she is able to trap him with her jutsu, the match is hers!"

"Yeah…" Shikamaru grumbled, "but I don't see the sandman over there giving her that sort of time and space."

They turned their attention back to Gaara and Ino. Gaara's clone was still on the move, but he was now creating waves of sand along the ground to attack Ino as well, resulting in a two-pronged attack. Ino was smashed by the sand clone as she realized her close proximity, screaming in terror as she went tumbling into the ground. As she got up panting, Gaara glared at her disdainfully.

"This…is boring. I'll give you one minute to pray to your God…and then I'm going to kill you."

"Yikes!" Naruto squinted at the Sand ninja nervously. "Hey! Hey! I think he's serious!"

"Of course he is!" Kankurō shuddered. "Gaara has never even been scratched and he has even been attacked by chūnin and jōnin. A little preppy wannabe like this girl is a goner!"

"No…" Shikamaru grinned. "This match is Ino's!" _But still…is such an exaggerated performance really necessary? _

Ino was sobbing hysterically, hands clasped together in prayer. The sand slowly receded, and with it, Ino's hands slowly shifted. Gaara watched her uninterested as she connected her thumbs together, and then bent her index and middle fingers together. "Mind Transfer Jutsu!" She yelled triumphantly. Gaara's eyes widened as Ino's chakra spirited her mind toward her opponent. Gaara's body slumped simultaneously with Ino's.

"She did it!" Shikamaru yelled, clenching his fist with relief. Kankurō began to sweat crazily and he grabbed Shikamaru by the collar.

"What the hell did she do to Gaara?" Shikamaru looked taken aback, but he grinned nonetheless.

"She beat him! All Ino's got to do is make Gaara surrender and he is out!" Kankurō began visibly shaking.

"Fool! You have to get her out of there!"

"Don't be a sore loser…" Shikamaru mumbled, eyeing the competitors. "Strange…why hasn't Ino done anything yet…?"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Ino's bloodcurdling scream instantly snapped everyone to attention.

"Impossible!" Asuma exclaimed as the poor blonde was expelled back into her own body, perspiration consuming her face, as were tears. She was biting her lip so hard that it was bleeding, shaking uncontrollably.

"What has she done?" Kankurō exclaimed, looking at Gaara in horror. The shinobi's face was half-concealed by sand, and as it began to shape itself, it was clearly the form of a tanuki. Gaara raised his hands together and roared, a mad look in both animal and human sides of his face.

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Gaara screamed wildly, murderous frenzy consuming his actions. Sand exploded all around him, flying towards Ino. It crashed into her, throwing her into the wall, knocking her out cold. Blood oozed out of her head and down her broken nose, and Hayate's eyes widened in alarm.

"That's enough!" He exclaimed, but Gaara continued to punch the broken Ino with oversized fists made of sand, shattering and breaking bones with each strike.

"Hehehehehehehehehehehe…" Gaara wrapped his sand around Ino. As he squeezed his hand together, sand exploded everywhere.

"Did he kill her?" Kankurō demanded.

"INO!" Shikamaru exclaimed horrified. As the sand cleared, they saw Hayate standing in front of Ino with a long sword extended in front of him. His eyes were set on Gaara angrily.

"I told you, that's enough." Looking up at Baki, he snapped, "Control your subordinate!"

"You have my apologies…" Baki bowed his head before he appeared beside Gaara. The insane half-man growled at Baki, sending a chill down the jōnin's spine, but he locked eyes with Gaara nonetheless.

"Stop this, Gaara," he whispered. "Wait until the finals…" Gaara stared at him for a long moment before the sand cleared up. Turning away, Gaara disappeared and reappeared beside Temari. Hayate watched him carefully before he sheathed his blade.

"Gaara is the winner…medics!" The medics quickly arrived on the scene, and all of the Leaf ninja joined the fray, inspecting Ino nervously. The medics began barking orders to one another, each utilizing ninjutsu to ease the poor girl's pain.

"Kakashi-sensei…is Ino going to be all right?" Sakura whimpered. Kakashi looked at her sympathetically.

"Were you two friends?" Sakura lowered her head but said nothing. Kakashi sighed and watched Ino. "It's out of our hands right now…"

"That bastard!" Shikamaru trembled, watching as Ino's crumbled from was hoisted onto a stretcher and carried away. Asuma noticed the trickle of tears drip down his protégé's cheek, and turned away.

"Ino…chose to fight, despite her overwhelmingly low odds of her success." Shikamaru faced his sensei, and Asuma turned back to his student, a sharp look in his eyes. "I know you don't like to work hard. Why you three even consented to participate in the Chūnin Exam in the first place is a mystery to me…but Choji and Ino went out fighting with a passion. Don't disgrace their efforts with your laziness."

Shikamaru turned away and clenched his fist. "No…I won't let Team 10 end here. I'm going to move on to the next round and then…" Shikamaru pointed his finger at Gaara. The Sand ninja stared back as Shikamaru exclaimed, "Gaara, I'll personally defeat you myself!" Gaara's eyes widened as he stared down Shikamaru menacingly.

"Shikamaru…are you crazy?" Kiba whispered, pulling Shikamaru away, but the challenge had been made. Gaara watched the duo step away, and Naruto pointed up at Gaara.

"Yeah! Me too!" He exclaimed striking a heroic posture, but to his chagrin, he was completely ignored by the stoic enemy. Sakura smacked him over the head.

"Naruto, you idiot! What are you thinking, trying to pick a fight with someone like him?"

"But…Ino was your friend, wasn't she?" Naruto furrowed his brow in an attempt to justify his own actions with logic. Sakura's gaze softened as she turned away from Naruto.

"Yeah…"

"So that's enough of a reason for me to want to avenge her for you!" Naruto exclaimed, giving her a thumbs up. She smiled slightly.

"Naruto…"

"You should be careful," Hayate spoke softly to Baki. The Sand jōnin, now free of worry from his vicious student, raised his eyebrow.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Looks like the Leaf is about to be at war with the Sand," Hayate muttered, his eyes on Shikamaru and Naruto. He did not notice Baki grin wickedly behind him.

"You know…you just might be right."

**Winner: Gaara**

**Author's Note: Yeah, we all saw where this one was going. I was pretty tempted to pit Ino against ****Kankurō and play around with her as she tries to figure out why she can't possess a puppet, but I figured it was the same concept, albeit more entertaining, if she possessed Gaara and got completely mentally overwhelmed by Shukaku and all his crazed glory. I'm excited at the thought of concluding the preliminaries and moving on to the main fights. The brackets are constantly changing up for me, and I am trying to decide who will ultimately be the final pairing. Feel free to offer your input on pairings you would really like to see; that might help me decide which fights to stick with and which to cut out. Just one or two suggestions though; I don't want detailed explanations and brackets for all of the finalists. Another thing I should mention: I have slightly revised the chapters and I hope to edit them even better at some point. Probably won't be for a while, but be on the lookout for that. **

**Crow**


	7. A Kunoichi's Bonds

**Chapter 7: A Kunoichi's Bonds**

**Sakura vs. Shikamaru **

"Well, that's definitely the most fighting spirit I've ever seen from you," Asuma commented as Kiba dragged Shikamaru back to the upper level. Shikamaru swatted away Kiba's hands and furrowed his brow.

"It's a pain…but I'm going to win this thing." Shikamaru reached into an inside pocket of his short sleeved grey jacket, fingering his weapons carefully as he watched the monitor in anticipation.

"This time it'll be me for sure!" Kiba howled nearby with Akamaru. Naruto eyed Kiba with disdain.

"He's so loud," Naruto muttered, causing Sakura to burst out into a laugh that was clumsily disguised as a cough. "What?" Naruto exclaimed irritably, but Sakura had to spend a few moments recovering before she could answer him.

"Naruto, you were absolutely right," Sakura admitted as she straightened up.

"About Kiba? Of course I am! He smells like stinkin' dog and constantly yells which makes his dog bark and he…"

"No," Sakura cut Naruto's rant off. "I meant you were right about avenging Ino. She was my friend and I can't let things end like this. I'm going to avenge her and defeat Gaara," she proclaimed heroically.

"Sakura…that's stupid," Naruto bluntly replied, causing Sakura to topple over with a dull crash.

"Why the hell is it stupid?" She cried indignantly. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"He beat your friend and rival without moving a muscle until he went cuckoo toward the end. She wasn't even able to scratch him! And you aren't really much better…you'd be slaughtered!" Sakura frowned at him and opened her mouth, but she was cut off by Sasuke.

"He's right, Sakura…know your limits." Sakura's face dropped and she lowered her head. Sasuke lifted her chin with his rough hand, and as she raised her eyes, she saw that he was smiling. "That doesn't mean you can't get better though. Take out your enemies one at a time and get stronger before the next one."

"Oh, Sasuke!" She wrung her arms around him emotionally. Naruto carefully averted his jealous gaze as Sasuke began the arduous task of trying to shove her off of him.

"Ah!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura and Sasuke turned to the monitor. Shikamaru vs. Sakura.

"Dammit…why am I stuck fighting a girl?" Shikamaru complained loudly. Asuma turned away shrugging hopelessly.

"Always bitching…"

"Are you two ready?" Hayate asked the competitors as they approached the proctor. They both nodded, and he jumped back. "Begin!"

Rather than spring into action, Shikamaru felt his posture slacken as he hunched over lazily. _Damn…how am I going to do this? I said I would beat Gaara, but I didn't think I would be stuck fighting a girl. I hate fighting girls…_

"Hey, Shikamaru." Shikamaru snapped to attention as Sakura spoke to him. "Ino might have been your teammate, but I used to be her best friend. I can't let you move on," she said. Shikamaru heaved a great sigh.

"That's sort of conceited, don't you think? I mean, I knew her a lot better than you did."

Sakura pulled a pair of kunai from the pouch hanging around her waist, pointing them at Shikamaru. "I don't care. Get ready; I'm not going easy on you." With a battle cry, Sakura charged at Shikamaru, the latter who calmly kept his hands calmly stuffed in his pocket.

"What's he planning?" Naruto wondered out loud. Everyone gasped in shock.

"Get off your lazy ass, Shikamaru!" Chōji yelled in panic. The stoic shinobi had not bothered to retaliate or even defend himself against Sakura's attack, and at the last minute, she moved her kunai out of the way in favor of a double-fisted punch. Shikamaru was now lying on the ground with an unmovable expression on his face.

"Why didn't you do anything?" Sakura asked him incredulously. "I could have killed you!"

"It was too troublesome to do anything," Shikamaru replied. Sakura scowled, focusing chakra into her leg and kicking Shikamaru. The extra power granted by her chakra control caused her opponent to summersault and tumble many feet away until the wall provided a painful halt.

"Sakura's gonna win!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. Kakashi squinted at the two ninja.

"I don't know…even if this Shikamaru is lazy, why would he allow himself to just be kicked around like this?"

"I don't know, but now he's back into the wall. He's completely cornered!" Naruto giggled in triumph.

Kakashi's eyes widened at this. _The wall! Of course!_

"It's over, Shikamaru," Sakura said. Shikamaru simply grinned at her.

"You already know what I can do. Why do you keep getting closer?"

"I'll just move if I see you using seals. Besides, you can't do anything if you aren't working in collaboration with a squad."

Shikamaru stared at her incredulously. "Are you really so ignorant that you believe that? C'mon, Sakura…I thought you were the smartest girl at the Academy!"

Sakura scowled. "Whatever; if you aren't going to forfeit, then I'm going to end things here and now!" Sakura concentrated her chakra into her fists and swung at Shikamaru. As she made contact with his face, he went flying into the wall with a loud explosion. The genin all gasped in astonishment, and even Sakura was surprised as she beheld the large hole where he used to be.

"Did I…did I kill him?" She asked nonplussed. Sure, she wailed on Naruto frequently, but she could not imagine that she had the physical prowess to punch someone through the wall…

"Sakura! What are you doing?" Naruto yelled out in alarm.

"Wah?" Sakura's body suddenly began walking without her consent. Looking down, she saw an extremely thin shadow connected to hers. Eyes widening, she looked straight ahead, realization creeping in. _That…that bastard! _

"Sensei! I can't see anything!" Naruto complained. Sakura had walked into the tunnel that Chōji had made earlier, and had not been seen since.

"I think that was Shikamaru's plan…" Kakashi peered into the darkness.

"You planned this," Sakura spoke to Shikamaru in the tunnel through gritted teeth. She could not see him, but she knew he was there, hiding in the shadows.

"This is an organized competition," Shikamaru's voice gently rang out in the darkness. "Letting myself get beat around makes me appear weak to my enemies, but here, anything can happen. I'm not going to reveal my full potential, particularly to the Sand, when there was a perfect hideaway like this."

"Perfect hideaway? You mean…from the very beginning…?"

"Yup. I was hoping Chōji would defeat that scary Sand chick, but even though he lost, he gave me the best possible weapon. Only those familiar with my technique would notice that my shadow had snagged you and forced you in here with me, and now, you're in my territory. It's over, Sakura." Sakura gave a yelp as her body jerked into a sprint, moving away from the lit entrance that she had come through in the first place. She felt Shikamaru's shoulder brush by her and heard him whisper something as he headed in the opposite direction.

"Sorry."

"Oh! I see someone!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing as a silhouette emerged from the tunnel. He lowered his hand in disappointment as Shikamaru came into view, hands in his pockets and an annoyed expression on his face.

"Might want to get a medic in there, ref," Shikamaru muttered to Hayate in passing. Hayate glanced after him curiously before he dashed into the tunnel to retrieve Sakura's unconscious body. As he stepped out holding her, Naruto and Rock Lee simultaneously gasped in horror as a large number of gaping wounds came into sight. Her forehead in particular was oozing, a chunk of rock embedded within her brow.

"What'd you do to her?" Naruto demanded. Without cracking a smile, Shikamaru sighed.

"It was the damndest thing…while I ran out of the tunnel, she ran deeper. I guess she didn't think there was an exit or something…" Naruto stared after him suspiciously, but joined Kakashi and Lee by Hayate's side.

"Umm…the winner is Shikamaru!" Hayate exclaimed before turning back to Sakura. Her nose wiggled, and Hayate sighed with relief. "It's nothing severe. She should be fine with some rest."

"Thanks. You can leave her with us," Kakashi graciously took his subordinate and retreated to the upper level.

"Kakashi-sensei, how could she lose to a slacker like Shikamaru?" Naruto asked disappointed. "She was kicking his ass!"

"Naruto…watch that boy closely," Kakashi said simply. "He is much more powerful than he let on this fight. That's the entire reason you weren't able to see how he won in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

"A ninja lives in deception," Kakashi recited a popular ninja tenet as he gazed at Shikamaru. "That was one intelligent guy…"

"Good job, Shikamaru!" Chōji slapped Shikamaru on the back as he joined his friend and his sensei. Shikamaru winced as Asuma lit up a "victory smoke," humming a cheerful tune.

"You did well," Asuma agreed, breathing smoke through his nose as he recollected the fight. "How was she able to punch you through the wall though?"

"Good timing," Shikamaru grinned. "I set a letter bomb behind me while I was sidetracking Sakura with my chitchat. It detonated right as she punched me. In reality, the wall had already disintegrated by the time I went flying through it. I just had to make sure that she beat me close enough to the tunnel without actually being close enough to the tunnel that she would notice what an adventurous positions he had placed me in. My shadow possession jutsu was made much more effective as I escaped into the tunnel, giving me access over most of the terrain."

"You clever bastard," Chōji grinned, handing his friend a bag of potato chips. Shikamaru graciously broke them open and popped one in his mouth thoughtfully.

"I did feel bad doing that to her though…but I promised I would avenge Ino. It's troublesome, but so is friendship. I just didn't have any choice…I guess my bonds with Ino were just stronger."

"Yeah…at least you were able to keep your talents a secret from most everyone here," Asuma said approvingly.

"Yeah, I…wait a second…what the hell is that?" Shikamaru pointed towards the tunnel horrified. A nearly unnoticeable eye floated out, leaking grainy particles. Shikamaru's jaw dropped as the eye flew towards Gaara. The vicious Sand ninja had covered an eye with his fingers, and as the eye returned to him, he caught it and squeezed it. It burst into sand and he opened both of his eyes before he looked towards Shikamaru with a chilling glare of superiority.

"That bastard…he saw the whole thing," Shikamaru shuddered, feeling a cold sweat. Gaara shuddered as well, attracting his siblings' notice.

"Is something wrong, Gaara?" Kankurō asked concerned.

"This Chūnin Exam…is going to be a lot of fun."

**Winner: Shikamaru**

* * *

**Author's Note: Finally got to make use of that tunnel Chōji made earlier! I've been holding on to that strategic element for a while now. If you want to see more Shikamaru action, check out my newest fanfiction The Shadow Sleuth Chronicles. It is my first attempt at mystery, and honestly, I am quite pleased with the chapter. The more interest I get for it, the quicker I will be to update it. You guys know the drill! Check it!**

**Crow**


	8. Weapon Master

**Chapter 8: Weapon Master**

**Tenten vs. Kin**

"That fight was lame," Tenten muttered. "Why have the girls of our village been such a disgrace to kunoichi?"

"I didn't think they were so bad," Lee replied thoughtfully. "Gaara had overwhelming strength, Hinata had a good fight with Naruto, and we weren't really sure what happened with that last fight…but I'm guessing Shikamaru has a few tricks up his sleeve that he didn't show us."

"I don't care," Tenten immediately interjected to Lee's surprise. "These were all humiliating defeats. Female ninja need to be stronger than male ninja. Sexism isn't gonna end if we can't at least do that."

"So take the responsibility into your own hands," Guy said with a grin. "You can do it, Tenten. Gain recognition from your peers and I know Lady Tsunade would acknowledge your abilities as well." Tenten's eyes sparkled at the reference to her idol. If only she could represent women that well…

"(Cough) moving on…it's time for the eighth round." Hayate's eyes shifted as he scanned the six remaining participants. Three Leaf, one Sand, two Sound. Everyone's eyes locked on the monitor as it flickered in its selection, finally landing on two names.

"Tenten…versus Kin," Lee read out loud, turning to his comrade excitedly. "You're finally up!"

"Yup! I've got this," Tenten clutched her fist confidently. She raised an eyebrow as Lee motioned her closer.

"I don't know what she can do, but be careful. She didn't display her abilities in the Forest of Death…"

"Don't be so worried, Lee," Tenten reassured him. "Not only will I beat her, but I'll even keep my secret weapon reserved for the finals!"

"Promise?" Lee gave her a thumbs up. Looking around quickly to make sure no one was watching, she gave him a thumbs up as well.

"I promise." She joined Hayate and Kin on the floor, eying her opponent with disdain.

"Got a problem?" Kin taunted.

Tenten glared at the opposing kunoichi. "I'm going to avenge Lee right here and now!"

"Tenten," Lee muttered as he blushed profusely. "I think Neji took care of that already."

"No, I insist," Tenten smirked up at him. "You got the crap beaten out of you, so it'll take both of us to redeem you." Lee lowered his head in shame, but Guy smacked him across the face.

"Keep your head up, Lee!" Guy commanded Lee confidently. "Your teammate needs you!"

"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee said obediently. "WROOOOH! TENTEN!"

"YOU'VE GOT YOUTH ON YOUR SIDE!" Guy cheered as well. Tenten's face dropped and she went bright red as they supported her in their flashy way.

"How embarrassing," Kin drawled. Tenten rolled her eyes and turned to Hayate.

"Let's go, ref. I want to show this snob what a real kunoichi is." A shadow of a smile passed over Hayate as he raised his arm.

"Begin!"

Tenten instantly performed a series of backflips to increase the distance between her and her opponent. Kin watched her closely as she landed, but Tenten remained stationary for a moment, scrutinizing her enemy.

"Too afraid to do anything?" Kin asked snidely.

Tenten grinned. "Don't fool yourself, dear. Anything you can do, I can do better."

"That right?" Kin pulled out a handful of senbon, hurling them at her opponent. Tenten's smile widened and she deflected the senbon with a handful of shuriken.

"Not even a problem for Tenten," exclaimed Guy as he burst into triumphant laughter. Kin was beginning to learn this as she ran around Tenten, throwing senbon after senbon, only to be deflected by the immobile Tenten's shuriken.

"Stop just standing there!" She yelled in frustration.

Tenten sighed deeply. "Fine. I've got the depths of your abilities down anyway, and I suppose I'll return the same courtesy." She turned to face Kin, pulling out a handful of senbon. Kin's eyes widened as she realized that Tenten's senbon had bells on it. _Does she know this trick too?_ Kin and Tenten simultaneously tossed senbon, dodging the respective blows. Lee yelled out in alarm as bells rang behind Tenten, but the kunoichi did not even bat an eye, let alone turn around in surprise.

"So you do know my trick," Kin breathed resentfully.

"Of course. I caught on to your plan the instant I realized you had attached bells to your senbon," Tenten said, and Kin had to fight the urge to turn around as Tenten pulled on something, causing bells to ring behind the Sound ninja.

"You think I'm gonna fall for the same trick that I just tried to use on you?" Kin sounded genuinely offended. "Idiot!"

"On the contrary," Tenten burst into laughter. "I was counting on it."

Kin felt a shiver and determinedly fixed her gaze on the ground to avoid the temptation of turning around. She jumped backward in alarm as she saw movement in front of her, but they were just shadows. Odd…

"KIN!" Zaku shouted in horror.

"Oh no!" Kin gasped as she realized what the shadows were. Wheeling around, Kin came face to face with all of the weapons that Tenten had previously thrown. Kunai, shuriken, senbon, all hovering in the air above her. Kin turned back to Tenten just in time to see her manipulating the thin wires with her hands.

"Interesting," Kankurō commented from the side. "She would make a decent puppet master."

"She's a weakling," Temari contradicted her brother; this was a sentiment that Kin didn't share as she watched the weapons build up in front of her.

"What the…" She gaped, but as she turned back to Tenten, she experienced a burst of pain as Tenten stuck her between her breasts with a perfectly aimed kunai. Kin fell to the ground wheezing.

Tenten approached her downed opponent slowly, twirling a kunai around her index finger. "If you don't surrender now, you're gonna have to deal with all of these," Tenten jammed a thumb towards the levitating weapons, causing about five kunai to shift slightly. Kin pulled the kunai out of her chest and stood up with the utmost contempt. Tenten smiled sweetly in expectation, but was disappointed by Kin's response.

"Screw you!" Kin yelled as she hurled more senbon toward Tenten. The Leaf kunoichi shrugged in defeat as she dodged the senbon with ease.

"You asked for it," Tenten yanked the strings down. "But don't worry. I won't hit any vitals." The onlookers turned away wincing as each weapon was buried into the flesh of the injured Sound ninja. Blood splattered everywhere and Kin hit the ground hard, gurgling on blood before her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"Umm…" Hayate peered at the comatose kunoichi. "Tenten is the winner!"

"Tenten! Tenten!" Lee and Guy cheered victoriously. Tenten grinned at her success; she was in the final round! As she joined her team, Hayate surveyed the battlefield and shook his head disappointed.

"Umm…I hate to tell you guys this, but…we've got to take a slight intermission." Hayate informed the spectators.

"Why?" Naruto was immediately among the first to protest, but it was quickly evident as to why they needed a break. Kin could not be safely moved with all of those weapons pinning her to the ground. Several medics appeared before Kin wearing masks and gloves as they carefully began pulling out weapons and sealing the wounds.

"Wasn't that…overkill?" Lee peered at Kin.

Tenten shrugged. "Can't be too careful," she said. "The minute you give your opponent a chance, they have a chance to come back. You can never truly underestimate your opponent, even if they only appear to have a mediocre skill."

"I see," Lee muttered, writing her words in a notebook.

"Stop taking notes! You should already know this," Tenten berated him, but as he continued taking notes, she kicked him in the face, sending him rolling by Team 7. Sasuke ignored Lee and Kakashi merely watched amused, but Naruto cautiously approached the sprawled out Lee and cupped his hand around Lee's ear.

"Dude," Naruto whispered, "your teammate is pretty scary…"

"Yes," Lee sobbed. "I know." Tenten ignored him and brushed back her hair with satisfaction. The medics had finally removed every weapon and carefully lifted Kin into a stretcher, tenderly lifting her and transporting her out the doors. As she went through the exit, another figure entered.

"Neji!" Tenten cried, running and wrapping her arms around him. He accepted her affections stoically and with a grin. His head was bandaged up a bit, but that was the full extent of his injuries, to her relief.

"Congrat on your win," he said. "All of Team Guy is now in the finals."

"Yeah," she grinned. "Let's do our best!"

"Should you be out right now?" Guy asked his subordinate concerned. Neji brushed off his question with a shrug.

"I feel fine, I can hear with one of my ears for now, and I can't afford to miss any more battles with my potential opponents. I was out for too long as it was."

"Well, in that case, welcome back," Guy clapped Neji on the back. Lee jumped to his feet and joined his comrades, but the festivities of Neji's return were cut short.

"All right," Hayate coughed. "There are four genin remaining. Let's see who's next…"

**Winner: Tenten**

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter, but let's face it. Kin was easily the weakest and most unnoticeable of all the ninja in the preliminary round and I could only drag the fight out so much. At this point, I have made most of the edits that I had planned for this series. These updates were primarily made so that the battle scenes made more sense. As always, favorite, review, and follow. Same goes for my other Naruto fanfic. It's not getting much love so I'm not seeing much reason to update it frequently. **

**Crow**


	9. Deadly Shinobi Tools

**Chapter 9: Deadly Shinobi Tools**

**Kiba vs. ****Kankurō**

"Sasuke, are you okay? You aren't looking so well," Sakura spoke tenderly to her teammate as sweat dripped down Sasuke's forehead. Trembling, he clenched his face with his hand.

"I'm fine…just a little tired."

"Tired?" Sakura grew wide-eyed at his stubbornness. "I know you still haven't recovered from Orochimaru's attack. That…thing on the back of your neck…why are you even still here? You need rest and medical treatment!"

"It's nothing." Sasuke glared at her. "There are only two matches left and either one of these could be me. Don't get in my way."

"Your friend seems sort of stupid," Kankurō muttered to Naruto as he watched Sasuke with amusement. _It'd be nice if I got to show this kid up. I still owe him for making me look like a fool when I was picking on that brat._

"He is," Naruto affirmed, pulling Kankurō out of his melancholy.

Temari moved beside her brother slowly. "Don't reveal all your secrets," she muttered softly, hardly moving her lips. Kankurō sighed. Withholding secrets was such a hassle.

"So it's just me left," Zaku muttered a short distance away. He eyed Sasuke disdainfully. "I'm going to get you back for my arms, Sasuke Uchiha…"

"I want to fight against Sasuke!" Kiba decided to Kurenai and Shino.

Shino raised his eyebrow in response. "Why is that?"

"Are you kidding?" Kiba exclaimed. "One guy has both of his arms wrapped up and the other was pissing his pants while his brother slaughtered those Rain ninja. Sasuke, on the other hand, is the number one rookie ninja of the year! If I can fight him and win, I'll be the best of the Rookie Nine!"

"I wouldn't say that," Shino said, but Kiba ignored him.

"C'mon, Sasuke!" He exclaimed as he turned back to the monitor.

"You're mine," Zaku growled towards the monitor.

"Time to kill this hotshot," Kankurō growled.

As the screen flickered, the names appeared. Kiba vs Kankurō.

"Yes!" Zaku exclaimed.

"Dammit!" Kiba wailed.

"Shit," Kankurō snarled, but Naruto was laughing at him hysterically.

"You got dog-boy! This will be rich!" He chuckled.

"Dog-boy?" Kankurō cocked his head curiously, squinting at his opponent as Naruto pointed to a small white dog poking its head out of Kiba's jacket. "Ah…interesting…"

"Yo! Let's get this over with already!" Kiba demanded. Kankurō joined him with a smirk.

"You should think before you act. You'll live longer that way."

"Umm…you guys can begin now," Hayate stepped back.

"Ninja Art Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!" Kiba yelled, falling to his hands and feet as a dog would. His nails were sharply aimed at Kankurō, but his opponent did not seem to care. Kankurō merely lifted the wrapped bundle off of his back and set it down with a low thud. Kiba looked at it curiously and carefully took in his opponent's appearance before laughing.

"Who do you think you're fooling?" He asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kankurō innocently replied.

"Then let me show you!" Kiba growled, charging at his opponent. Kankurō sank into a defensive position, but Kiba ran straight past him towards his bundle.

"No!" Kankurō yelled in alarm, tossing kunai at Kiba, but they were deflected easily with shuriken as Kiba jumped up in the air.

"You're mine!" He came down slashing on the bundle. The Leaf ninja gasped as it was shredded, bandages flying everywhere, revealing a sprawled and bleeding Kankurō. The original Kankurō slumped towards the ground.

"Pitiful," Gaara hissed from the sidelines.

"What the hell is that?" Naruto asked loudly.

"He's a puppet master," Kakashi observed. "Unfortunately for him, Kiba is from the Inuzuka clan. With their superior sense of smell, they can't be fooled by such a low-level trick."

"You…got me," Kankurō coughed blood.

Kiba grinned triumphantly. "That might have worked on someone else, but not me."

Kankurō staggered to his feet. "Is that right?" He asked. Kiba screamed in pain as without warning, his opponent swiped with a stunning speed, nicking Kiba sharply across the arm.

"What the hell? You should be down for the count!" Kiba exclaimed as he jumped back. He looked at his arm with concern. An ugly purple mark was beginning to burn. _Poison…damn!_

"I should be, huh?" His opponent asked, fiddling with his weapon. "Did you ever think…maybe attacking me wasn't such a good idea?" Kiba felt light-headed and fell to the ground as Kankurō's head twisted around his neck in a full circle.

"You…you're the puppet!" Kiba gasped, pointing up at the enemy his smell had led him to. The real Kankurō, who had played along and slumped to the ground after Kiba attacked his puppet, rose slowly, his head the last thing to come up.

"Naruto pointed out your dog before the fight and I knew that your fighting style would incorporate animalistic traits," Kankurō smirked.

"Damn you Naruto, always screwing people over!" Kiba yelled up towards the sidelines infuriated.

"How was I supposed to know your attack style would be so obvious?" Naruto yelled back.

"I was prepared to disconnect myself from Karasu if you had attacked me," Kankurō continued as if there had been no interruptions, "but when you ran past me, I knew you had fallen for my trap. Didn't take much; I just had to make my puppet smell like me while I smelled like my puppet."

"It's just 'cause I didn't know what your battle strategy was!" Kiba protested, but Kankurō scowled.

"That's why you slow down and think…idiot." Kankurō twisted his fingers and his puppet clone shook violently, its shell of sand falling apart and revealing its true identity. Three eyes, four arms, and spikey brown hair were hiding beneath its modified disguise. It opened its mouth, revealing sharp teeth.

"That puppet…looks like an Inuzuka," Kiba shuddered.

Kankurō scratched his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "Might be. I'm not sure who Karasu used to be."

"Who Karasu used to be?" Kiba echoed incredulously. "Your puppet used to be a person?"

"Given who made him, most likely," Kankurō replied nonchalantly. "I don't see what that has to do with anything. Enough. It's time to end this." A series of senbon pierced Kiba's shoulders and arms, causing him to scream loudly. As he fell to the ground panting, Kankurō eyed him disdainfully. "This is why I hate kids…" He muttered before a wave of pain went through his arm. Looking down outraged, he discovered that Kiba's dog had clamped its jaws around his hand.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled, weakly pushing himself back on his feet and pulling out the senbon roughly, ignoring the pain that the movement caused.

"Stupid mutt!" Kankurō yelled, swinging his arm fourth. The little dog went airborne as the puppeteer jerked his hand back. Kiba dived and caught his companion before he could hit the ground.

"Good boy," Kiba scratched Akamaru behind the ears as Kankurō gingerly rubbed the indentions in his hand caused by the dog's fangs. Good thing he wore gloves.

"You should surrender right now," Kankurō said, regaining his composure. "The poison has been in your system for several minutes now. You're going to be in trouble if you don't get treated soon."

"You can do it, Kiba!" Kiba heard a familiar female voice and turned towards his team joyously to discover that Hinata had recovered from her fight enough to return to the sidelines. She was standing next to Shino and Kurenai with her hands cupped around her mouth. Turning back to his opponent, Kiba grinned.

"How could I forfeit with my whole team behind me and Akamaru at my side? Idiot! Let's go, Akamaru! It's time for round two!" Akamaru jumped on Kiba's back and barked enthusiastically. "Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Beast Human Clone!" Kiba exclaimed as Akamaru barked along. Kankurō started as Kiba and Akamaru simultaneously transformed into identical Kibas that were prowling on their hands and feet with a ferocious disposition.

"Damn…if one of them gets by Karasu…" Kankurō knew his greatest weakness well enough; Karasu had to remain directly in front of him at all times. If these beast-men got past somehow, he would be in trouble. But he still had to conserve the full extent of Karasu's mechanisms for the finals…

"Let's go!" Kiba cried as Akamaru and he charged towards Kankurō.

"Grr, Karasu!" Kankurō pulled his puppet back to him. Karasu served as a shield just in time, but was too inadequate a defense to stop Kiba's rage.

"It'll take a lot more than a corpse to defeat us!" He cried. "Man-Beast Ultimate Taijutsu: Fang Over Fang!" Akamaru and Kiba began spinning together at such a speed that it was almost impossible to even see the movement and charged through Karasu, clawing, biting, and ultimately dismantling the puppet as they burst through. The puppet's head hit the ground with a loud clank as they landed directly in front of Kankurō. The Sand ninja groaned loudly.

"Why did you have to go and break my puppet?" He asked, visibly upset. "He takes forever to put together again!"

"Don't be a sore loser," Kiba chided him. "You can't beat us. Your puppet is broken and you are out of options."

"You underestimate puppet masters," Kankurō snorted. "We don't merely operate the body of a puppet. We control each and every aspect of its being, like so."

_Swish!_

Kiba and Akamaru fell to the ground together, a poisoned spike running through their bellies. The sideliners yelled in alarm as Kankurō stood over the Leaf ninja and his dog triumphantly.

"What…did you do?" Kiba gasped, his face growing increasingly white.

"I was still in control of my puppet," Kankurō replied, lifting two spiked puppet arms up in front of Kiba. "You were too focused on what was in front of you to notice that the real threat was still behind you."

"Urg…Akamaru," Kiba groaned, pulling the spike out of his best friend with all of his strength. Akamaru squirmed in agony, but the spike was successfully removed, allowing the poor creature to transform back into a dog. Kiba scratched Akamaru behind the ear one last time before his world went black.

"That's enough!" Hayate said sharply. "Kankurō is the winner! (Cough) medics!"

"Please wait," Kurenai requested the proctor and medics, all whom stared at her in surprise. "These are serious injuries, and while I know you can handle it, these two need to be stabilized first. Shino, Hinata, please take care of Kiba before turning him over to the medics."

"Roger," Shino responded. He stooped down over Kiba and placed one hand over his open chest, the other over his nicked arm. Kikaichū beetles began crawling onto Kiba.

Hinata looked down at Akamaru and Kiba sadly. "They tried so hard…" She said softly.

"Yeah…but they didn't win," Shino said as his bugs began extracting the poison from Kiba.

"So it's just you going to the finals," Hinata frowned. "We failed…"

"Everyone fails," Shino replied simply. "But as long as there are others to bring you back up, life goes on."

"Sh…Shut up, Shino," Kiba coughed from the ground. "You're…annoying sometimes. Ya know that?"

"You've told me this before, yes," Shino said. "I would close your eyes. It isn't enjoyable to watch bugs leeching on you."

"But…I like that about you," Kiba finished his earlier thought, ignoring Shino's advice. He squirmed painfully as the last of the poison was removed.

"Now for Akamaru," Shino said, directing his bugs away from Kiba and towards his comatose dog. Hinata bent over Kiba and rubbed ointment on his open wounds. He squirmed greatly, but the medicine was already working.

"Thanks, Hinata," Kiba muttered gratefully before he lost consciousness again. Kankurō watched the scene with interest, recognizing the bonds at work between them. It was almost like…family.

"Kankurō. Get back up here so we can end this," Gaara commanded. Kankurō sighed deeply and returned to his brother, sister, and sensei.

"Can't believe you let a drop-out and his dog get that close to beating you," Temari huffed. Kankurō rolled his eyes. Just another bonding moment for the siblings of the Sand.

**Winner: ****Kankurō**

* * *

**Author's Note: Originally I was going to have Kiba against Sasuke, but I couldn't resist making Zaku's fight a grudge match as well. Plus, since ****Kankurō saved Kiba and Akamaru from the Sound Four, I was interested in playing out a fight between them. It's been a while since I've gotten the chance to update, but things have been pretty busy lately. Since it's been a while and the last few fights were short due to the low level of the competition, I decided to make this fight longer. The preliminaries are almost over now, and the month-long break is about to begin. This is where Revamped will really begin to deviate from the main story. Look forward to the final preliminary match between Sasuke and Zaku!**

**Crow**


	10. The Curse of Hatred

**Chapter 10: The Curse of Hatred**

**Sasuke vs. ****Zaku**

"It's finally time," Sasuke growled. His blood had been pumping throughout the examination despite the frequent pangs of agony he had been undergoing as a result of that mark on his neck. He felt it spreading down his neck. He felt it leeching on his chakra and…was it enhancing it? Sasuke shivered. Kakashi watched his subordinate cautiously.

"Don't think I haven't noticed your…let's call it an injury," Kakashi said in low tones. Sasuke raised his head slowly and stared at his sensei. "The only reason I haven't stopped you yet is because I know you would fight even if I stepped in. With that said, Lord Hokage has ordered your immediate disqualification if it takes complete control over you, so be careful."

"Humph," Sasuke entered the battlefield, withholding a wicked smile. What had happened to him in the Forest of Death? It had been a familiar sensation…

As Zaku landed in front of him, Sasuke eyed his arms that were wrapped together in a sling. "I've been waiting for this," Zaku snarled.

_Sharingan!_ Zaku winced as Sasuke's eyes became blood-red, two tomoe around the pupils. Sasuke visibly shuddered as the curse spread over his body like wildfire, but he restrained through sheer force of will. It slowly retracted and with his enhanced vision, Sasuke noted the proctor and veteran sideliners loosening up, the tension they had built from scrutinizing Sasuke fading.

"You've clearly fully recovered," Sasuke said with an air of superiority that irked his opponent. "But you won't be for much longer. Let's see if I can break those arms of yours again."

"Sasuke!" Kakashi shouted warningly, but Sasuke disregarded his sensei and raised his fists. Yes...he vividly remembered the sensation he felt in the Forest of Death: pure hatred. That ugly, beautiful contradiction that defined him. His heart had been changing...but was it time to embrace it again?

Hayate, caught in a coughing fit, lowered his arm with tears in his eyes. "Start," he gasped. Zaku, his trick exposed, blew through his bandages in an indiscriminate burst of power. Sasuke summersaulted away with grace, still cringing from the curse mark but otherwise unharmed.

"That all you have?" He chided Zaku. "I had been looking forward to fighting the Sound ninja, but it turns out you're just a one trick phony."

"Yeah? Well take this!" Zaku shouted, placing his palms into the ground. A wave of stone and cement rippled upwards towards Sasuke as Zaku blasted the floor. Sasuke swore and dived to the side, the curse starting to slink up his body.

"Kakashi-sensei! What is that?" Naruto asked alarmed. He received no answer; a deep sigh was Kakashi's only response. Sasuke had successfully dodged Zaku's attack, but was already extremely fatigued from the act of dodging.

"You talk a big game," Zaku said, "but you can't even fight back against the attacks of a 'one-trick phony!'"

_I'm definitely gonna break your arms again just to shut you up. _Sasuke glared at Zaku. _But the more ninjutsu I use, the more I feel this curse mark responding. It appears to feed on my chakra…so I probably had better try to use some taijutsu. And the best taijutsu specialist I know is…_

"You can do it, Sasuke!" Lee yelled from the sidelines.

"You aren't gonna lose here when I'm moving on to the next round are you?" Naruto taunted Sasuke.

_Shut up. _Sasuke rolled his eyes as he began debating his options again. _Clearly the Primary Lotus is the most powerful technique I have seen Lee use so far…but unlike him, I can't completely confine Zaku's movements. He'd just blow me away. I've got to change it up…_

"How about this?" Sasuke took a deep breath as he activated the proper hand seals. An admiring squeal came from the sidelines from those who had not yet seen Sasuke's pyro technique. A fireball erupted from his mouth, threatening to engulf the Sound ninja.

"I've seen this before!" Zaku retorted, fighting fire with air pressure as he expelled chakra through the tubes in his arms. He knew this was not the full extent of Sasuke's strategy and dived to the side, successfully dodging the shuriken that were hiding in the flames. As he sprung back into place, a foot came into hard contact with his chin. Gasping, Zaku was lifted into the air by the brunt of the attack.

"That's my…" Lee gasped in surprise.

"Not quite," Sasuke read the genin's thoughts as he appeared behind Zaku in midair. "I lack the proper speed and constraints to ensure that I don't get counterattacked, so from here on out, it's all me."

"The Dancing Leaf Shadow?" Kakashi observed from the sidelines interested. "Perfect movements…he's really come into his own!"

"This is the end!" Sasuke spun into a kick. Zaku caught Sasuke's leg with his hand and gave a quick blast to deflect the contact. Consequently, Sasuke spun around at an even quicker speed for his following kick, catching Zaku across the midsection. Saliva flew from Zaku's mouth as Sasuke flipped Zaku onto his back and came down on the Sound ninja's chest with his foot. "Lion's Barrage!" Sasuke exclaimed as they neared the ground.

"I don't think so!" Zaku yelled, blasting the ground at an angle. The ground came up and caught the duo before they could meet the ground, sending Sasuke tumbling away from Zaku. Sasuke came up gasping, the curse mark beginning to spread out over his body once more.

"I…can't believe you were able to stop that," Sasuke panted. Zaku was clutching his chest with a painful grimace on his face.

"Not entirely. You broke…at least three ribs," he admitted. "Still," he raised his palms in front of him, "this is not as not as bad as that crap you pulled in the Forest of Death. You're out of options, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Never…underestimate the Uchiha," Sasuke hissed. Kakashi yelled out in alarm as the curse spread over Sasuke's whole body. Zaku shuddered as he remembered his earlier encounter with this form. Before he could consider his next move, Sasuke had knocked Zaku across the arena and was charging at him with a frenzied fervor.

"W…what's up with Sasuke?" Naruto gasped horrified.

"It's happening again," Sakura whimpered. "We're going to lose Sasuke…aren't we?" She asked Kakashi tearfully.

_I should have sealed up the curse earlier. _Kakashi sighed deeply, silently cursing his naïvety. "He is still himself, Sakura…I will step in as soon as there is any evidence that is contrary to that."

"Look at him go!" Rock Lee cheered, oblivious to the corruption at work. Sasuke tackled Zaku, slamming a fist into his broken ribs. The Sound ninja screamed in agony and directed a decapitating air wave at his berserk opponent. Sasuke dodged around it effortlessly, kneeing Zaku in the back. As Zaku fell to the ground, Sasuke pulled back both of his arms and locked them up, placing a foot on Zaku's back.

"Remember this?" He hissed menacingly in Zaku's ears. As the memory of the crippling act surged throughout his body, Zaku's eyes filled with tears.

"No…no…I GIVE UP!" He screamed.

"That's enough, Sasuke!" Hayate commanded. Sasuke grew still for a moment before he reluctantly let go of Zaku's arms. The curse mark receded back into the seal on his neck and he fell to his knees. Zaku collapsed on the ground in relief, regaining the feeling in his arms. As the threat of his incapacitation vanished, anger swept over him.

"I let down Lord Orochimaru…no! I've just got to kill Sasuke Uchiha!" Zaku mumbled, prompting stares from the other participants and sideliners as chakra gathered around his palms. "This exam doesn't matter…I will kill Sasuke!" Zaku roared, unleashing all the air pressure he had built up.

"Look out!" Naruto yelled alarmed.

"The fight is over!" Hayate exclaimed angrily, but Zaku continued to shoot blast after blast of sonic airwaves at Sasuke, breathing heavily as his chakra reserves were depleted.

"Did I…did I do it?" He gasped. He felt a pair of hands slide around his head as clouds of debris drifted past him.

"Nope."

_CRACK!_

As the dust settled, Sasuke reappeared in everyone's line of sight. Zaku was lying on the ground, his neck contorted grotesquely. Hayate kneeled beside the Sound ninja and felt his pulse.

"He's dead…" He stated bitterly. Sasuke shrugged; why shouldn't he feel justified in breaking Zaku's neck? The bastard tried to attack him after Sasuke had been merciful enough to spare his arms…idiot.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sasuke blinked as Naruto's fist collided with his jaw.

"What do you think you're doing…moron?" Sasuke asked as he spit blood. Naruto was visibly shaking, his eyes dilated in anger as he pulled Sasuke close to his face.

"Why…why did he have to die, Sasuke?" Naruto exclaimed.

"What's your problem, loser?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow. "He attacked me, so I attacked him back. Would you have preferred it if I had been killed?"

"No…but that wasn't the only way!" Naruto cried. Sasuke turned his head to the side indifferently, further spurning Naruto's rage. "You…!"

"Naruto! That's enough!" Kakashi commanded sharply. Naruto lowered his head in shame.

"But Kakashi-sensei…he –"

"I know and I will take care of things later, but now is not the time or place for you to be fighting between each other." Kakashi said sternly. Turning to Sasuke, he bent down. "First chance I get, I am sealing that curse mark."

"Fine," Sasuke replied as another twang of pain struck him.

"Where's Sakura?" Naruto asked looking around.

"She was hungry so she left," Kakashi said. "She hasn't had anything to eat for hours." _Though if she had, she would have regurgitated it after seeing Sasuke like that…_

"She left?" Naruto exclaimed surprised. "But…isn't the third round about to begin?" Before Kakashi could say anything, the proctor's voice interrupted the buzz of activity that was sweeping over the competitors.

"With this, the preliminary trials for the Round 3 test have been completed!" Hayate declared as the Hokage moved towards the middle of the arena. "Winners, please gather before the Hokage. It is time to go over Round 3!"

**Winner: ****Sasuke**

* * *

**Author's Note: The sequential chapter is structured primarily to provide a sense of closure to the ****Chūnin**** Exam. On the negative side, there is not a fight in it. On the plus side, the initial pairings for the final tournament are revealed. I am using present tense in this author's note because I have already completed the chapter. I will release it in a few days, so please stop sending me hate mail. I don't like hate in my positive world.**

**Crow**


	11. The Preliminaries Conclude

**Chapter 11: The Preliminaries Conclude **

**Brackets Announced! **

The victorious eight shinobi and two kunoichi gathered together before the Hokage and exam proctor. Hayate surveyed them all pleased.

"To those of you who won the right to compete in the "Third Round Test" of the Chūnin Exam, (cough) congratulations to you all! Now Lord Hokage will take it from here!"

"Thank you, Hayate," the Third Hokage said as he stepped forth. Pulling his pipe out of his mouth, he observed the genin before him. "Now I'd like to start explaining the main test. As I've told you before, in the main event, your matches will be seen by everyone. Each of you will fight to represent the strengths of your countries. I'd like you to show off all of your powers with no reserves, which is why the finals will be held one month from now." The change in the atmosphere was almost visible as feelings of surprise swept over the genin.

"We're not going to do it here, right now?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"This break, you can say, will be for preparations," the Hokage replied.

"What does that mean?" Neji interrupted.

The Hokage spoke thoughtfully and deliberately, choosing his words carefully so as not to undervalue the significance of this break. "In other words…in addition to informing all the various country lords and shinobi leaders, this is the time needed to arrange for the gathering of the event…and this is also the preparation time for you examination students."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kankurō asked irritably.

"Basically, it's the preparation to get to know your enemy and yourself," the Hokage continued. "It's the time period where you will calculate your chances of winning by analyzing the data you accumulated during the trial competition. The battles up to now had you fight as if you were in an actual combat situation with…the assumption of fighting an unknown opponent." More than a few of the finalists glanced towards Gaara at this.

"So…now that we know the enemy, we're going to be using that information in the next round?" Tenten questioned.

"Indeed. This month should be used by all of you to advance and improve yourselves…and rest your bodies as well."

"OOOOOOH!" Lee exclaimed enthusiastically. "Let's get started!"

The Hokage grinned. "Well, I'd like to dismiss you now but…there's something that has to be done for the finals before I can do that."

"Dammit! Hurry up!" Naruto rudely complained.

"Well now, don't get so excited," the Hokage chuckled as Anko Mitarashi stepped forward holding a box. "There are pieces of paper inside of the box that Anko's holding so each of you take one piece."

"I'll come around, so wait your turn," Anko said as Naruto eagerly stepped forward. He settled back into the line of genin impatient as Anko began walking around. "Only one now," she said sharply as Naruto's fingers began exploring the contents of the box. He rolled his eyes and clenched his fist around a piece.

_8?_ Naruto read off his paper. He faced forward as Anko cleared her throat.

"Now then, I'd like you to tell us the number on that paper in order, starting from the left," she said. Ibiki Morino was standing nearby with a clipboard and a pen, marking down the order as the genin began saying their numbers out loud. He observed them with an almost sarcastic disdain that really carried no malicious intent, although most of them probably wouldn't have appreciated the descriptions he associated with them.

"5." That was Sasuke.

"I got 8." That loudmouth Naruto.

"2." Temari. Her brother wears more makeup than she does…

"6." Kankurō, the foreigner that plays with dolls.

"1." That stoic brat Gaara.

"10." Shikamaru. Lazy bum, though wasn't he Shikaku's boy?

"4." The genius snob Neji.

"I drew a 7!" And there's Lee, the muscle head with more eyebrows than muscle.

"9." Tenten. To survive the Chūnin Exam takes more than a few accurate weapon attacks…

"3." Shino, the punk with bugs in his body. Strange bunch this year.

"All right," the Hokage said after Ibiki scrawled the final name and number down. "Now I will reveal to you the final tournament!"

"That's what we drew numbers for?" Shikamaru exclaimed outraged.

The Hokage ignored him and turned to Ibiki. "Ibiki, show them the match arrangements."

"Yes," Ibiki said as he turned his clipboard around, revealing the brackets.

Match 1: Gaara vs. Temari.

Match 2: Shino vs. Neji.

Match 3: Sasuke vs. Kankurō.

Match 4: Lee vs. Naruto.

Match 5: Tenten vs. Shikamaru.

There was a simultaneous explosion of mixed reactions.

"Yes…" Shino whispered triumphantly.

"I get Bushy Brows the first round?" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, prompting Lee to jump up and down in joy.

"Naruto! Let us do our best!" Lee exclaimed with a thumbs up.

"Mannnnn….ANOTHER girl?" Shikamaru complained. Tenten glared daggers at him.

"Don't underestimate girls," she said challengingly, but he merely rolled his eyes and yawned.

"No…no…no…no…" Temari began hyperventilating, her knees buckling as she stared at the bracket. Kankurō caught her and steadied her as he glanced towards his younger brother. For the first time in recent memory, Gaara looked extremely disappointed.

The Third Hokage watched the scene with amusement before he clapped his hands together. "Well then, you're free to start strategizing or resting as you like. With this, I'll dismiss you all, but are there any final questions?"

Shikamaru raised his hand. "Can I ask a question?"

"Yes!"

"Since it's a tournament, it would mean there is only one winner, right…? Which would mean that only one person can become a chūnin doesn't it?"

"No! That's not quite it," the Hokage said. "There will be judges, including myself, Kazekage, lords of various countries that will make mission requests and other ninja leaders who will be watching the final test. Throughout the tournament, these judges will be evaluating your abilities…those judged to have the necessary qualities of a chūnin will…be able to become a chūnin even if they lose their first match."

"That means that…it's a possibility that everyone here will become a chūnin?" Temari asked hopefully.

"Yes," the Hokage said, "but also there is a possibility that no one will become a chūnin! To advance in the tournament means that you will have more chances to appeal to the judges." The Hokage turned back to Shikamaru. "Does that answer your question?"

"Geez…" Shikamaru muttered. As the Hokage looked around and saw that no one else had any questions, he smiled.

"Well then, thanks for all the effort you exerted for these trials. You're all dismissed until a month from now!"

"Naruto, Sasuke, get over here," Kakashi's voice boomed as the other genin participants went their own separate ways. Naruto eagerly ran up to his sensei, Sasuke trailing behind with his hands in his pockets.

"We did it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto's head.

"You guys performed splendidly, but now is not the time to lower your guard. As things stand now, neither of you stand much of a chance of becoming chūnins. We have a month to change that."

"So what kind of super awesome training are we gonna do?" Naruto asked excited.

"Err…Naruto, I'm not sure how to say this, but I won't be the one training you."

Naruto's face dropped and Kakashi was unsure what to say. "You're going to train Sasuke, aren't you?" Naruto asked accusingly.

"Now, now! Don't say that…because I've found you a teacher that's much better than me!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"Who is it?" Naruto asked, his curiosity piqued.

"It's me!" A familiar voice grabbed Naruto's attention. Turning around, recognition slapped Naruto across the face as he pointed a shaky finger at the new arrival.

"Oh! You're…the closet pervert!"

Ebisu, the "closet pervert," pushed his sunglasses up on his face with his middle finger, greatly perturbed at this nickname in the presence of Kakashi and Sasuke. Sasuke fell to the ground overcome both physically and mentally with weariness as Kakashi stared at the duo cluelessly.

"Well," he said, "I had no idea that you two knew each other…but that makes things easier for me. Ebisu-sensei, I leave things to you!"

"So soon?" Naruto asked disappointed. Kakashi jammed a thumb towards Sasuke who was on the ground shivering.

"Sorry, Naruto, but I've got to take care of this…Sasuke needs my full attention, but since you already know Ebisu-sensei, you are free to begin training whenever you want."

"Grr…okay, let's go right now, closet perv!" Naruto exclaimed, marching away from Kakashi and Sasuke.

"Really…" Ebisu huffed. Kakashi looked at him grimly.

"Sorry to have to do this to you," he muttered, "but I need to seal Sasuke's curse seal right now…it may already be too late."

"I understand," Ebisu reassured him with a small smile. "Naruto will be in good hands; you take care of your subordinate."

"Thank you," Kakashi said graciously. "Now…let's go, Sasuke." _And good luck…Naruto._

**Advancing from the Preliminary Round: **

**Rock Lee, Temari, Neji, Naruto, Shino, Gaara, Shikamaru, Tenten, ****Kankurō****, and Sasuke**

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**Author's Note: Finalizing the brackets has been a pain, but I've finally got things figured out. Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to paste a bracket in this…hopefully I'll find the time to scan a bracket and make it my cover page for this fanfiction. To provide closure to the prelims, I decided to release this chapter early. But I'm glad to be done with the preliminary round, even though this chapter wasn't a fight. Now I can focus on the fights that aren't infinitely one-sided. R&R!**

**Crow**


	12. Melee Rumble I

**Chapter 12: Unofficial Bouts: Melee Rumble I**

**Exercise 1: Capture the Bell**

"What's with that pervy sage?" Naruto grumbled as he walked home, fatigued and running on empty. "I mean really," Naruto sighed, "what am I supposed to accomplish by wasting all my chakra standing on water? I should be doing something useful with the month I have to train." Still, this WAS a man strong enough to easily take out closet perv…and the fact that Naruto could now easily walk on water was surely a testament to the old man's methodology.

"You sure like to bitch, don't ya?" Naruto spun around to find Kiba and Akamaru standing beside Shino. Naruto glared at them for a moment before offering a smugly superior face in retaliation.

"So, how about those preliminaries?"

Kiba blanched at this and Akamaru growled. "Shut up, Naruto. I would have advanced if I had been paired against a weakling like you!"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto brushed Kiba's insults aside. "What do you want? I'm pretty tired."

"Too tired to brawl?" Kiba asked.

Naruto's eyes lit up in curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"Curious?" Kiba smirked. "Meet us tomorrow at the Ninja Academy. 8 am. Bring any weapons you plan to use." With that challenge, Kiba and Shino disappeared with a body flicker. Naruto stared at the area they had been standing for a few moments before balling his hand into a fist and grinning.

"Sounds fun."

Naruto woke up the following day, having recovered his chakra and eager to get a fight or two in. That perverted sage probably wouldn't have anything new to teach anyway… As he approached the Ninja Academy, he was shocked to find a small gathering of ninja already present. Kiba and Shino of course, but also present were Hinata, Sakura, Chōji, and (most shockingly of all) Shikamaru.

"Naruto's here too?" Shikamaru complained. "How troublesome…"

"It's about time you got here!" Sakura exclaimed. "Now we can get started!"

"Get started?" Naruto was nonplussed.

Kiba's sharp eyes were dancing as he faced the group. "Well, looks like Sakura was right. Sasuke isn't going to be around for this, and Ino is still in the hospital at the moment. That means the rest of the Rookie Nine are present. Let's head to the third training ground!"

Naruto stared as Sakura cluelessly as they took off together, but his confusion was not explained as she fixed her focus on their destination. The group walked together in silence for a while before Naruto could no longer take the suspense.

"What is everyone doing here?" He finally blurted out.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious? We're going to train together."

"But only you, Shino, and I made it to the finals," Naruto stated confused.

Kiba scowled at this. "This isn't the only Chūnin Exam. There is always next time, and when it comes, the rest of us want to be ready for it. Besides, you might not become a chūnin this time around either, in which case, you would be in the same situation as the rest of us. We're testing all of our strengths with this!"

"Even though it's a pain," Shikamaru added. Naruto looked over his fellow ninja joyously for a few moments before he clenched his fist.

"All right…let's do this!" He yelled, shooting ahead of the rest of his companions. Shikamaru watched as Naruto's back disappeared from sight before he shook his head and let loose a deep sigh.

"That guy really needs to slow down…"

Naruto had already been at the training ground for five minutes before the rest of his group arrived. "C'mon!" He exclaimed eagerly as his fellow genin set their supplies aside. Shikamaru surveyed the collective group as they prepared.

"Okay, we're all situated so let's get started," he said. "First of all, do you guys recognize this drill?" Naruto gasped out loud as Shikamaru raised two bells above his head.

"That's…"

"Correct," Shikamaru affirmed as he lowered his arm. "This was the exercise we had to successfully complete in order to officially transition from the Ninja Academy to our respective genin squads. I've heard that the jōnin had their own ways of administering the test, but the objective is the same for all of them: Work together to steal the bells."

"What's the point of all this?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"Idiot," Shikamaru said simply. "Do you even know what a chūnin is?"

"Well, yeah!" Naruto folded his arms as he attemped to jog his memory. "A chūnin is below a jōnin but above a genin…"

"A chūnin is a "Journeyman Ninja," Sakura sighed. "Don't you remember anything, Naruto?" Naruto chuckled sheepishly and Sakura rolled her eyes. "Okay, just remember this. Chūnin serve as squad leaders and need to lead others."

"Ohh! I get it," Naruto exclaimed. "So we're going to do the bell exercise to check out our cooperation skills?"

"Pretty much," Shikamaru said. "Here is what we are going to do. We're going to split up into three teams. Team Shino will consist of Shino and me. Team Naruto will consist of Naruto, Sakura, and Kiba. Team Chōji will consist of Chōji and Hinata. We have five minutes to strategize in our collective groups. After that, Shino and I will get a three minute head start and take off. Whichever team is holding at least one bell when time is up will win. For Shino and me to win, we have to still be in possession of both bells. This will be a pretty short exercise since it's just to see how far everyone is right now. Let's end the drill at twenty minutes."

"Mann, why am I stuck with Kiba?" Naruto pouted.

"That's my line!" Kiba protested. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes towards the group as Sakura heaved a deep sigh.

"Listen. Being a chūnin is as much about being able to give orders as it is to receive orders, Shikamaru explained. "Teamwork isn't exactly your strong suit, for either of you. That's why I'm pairing you two with Sakura."

"Sakura?" Kiba snorted. "She's the weakest one here!" Any further thoughts were discontinued as Sakura punched his face in. Kiba went tumbling into a tree as Naruto jumped back in apprehension. Akamaru barked after his master in concern.

"She makes a better squad leader than either of you," Shikamaru towered over the crumbled form that was Kiba as Akamaru licked his master on the cheek. "So shut up, work together, and try to steal a bell."

Kiba nodded and rose to his feet with a groan. As Akamaru retreated to Kiba's jacket, Sakura pulled him and Naruto in as Shikamaru joined Shino. "Here's what I think we need to do," Sakura muttered. "We need to team up with Chōji and Hinata. I think that if we're working together, we can definitely steal at least one of the bells."

"Why not both of them?" Naruto asked.

"They might split up," Sakura said. "Don't forget, they get a head start on us. The smartest tactic would be for them to wait it out with the bells in separate locations, but if we have Hinata with us, we'll be able to see them if they are hiding in the forest."

"Ohhh! Great idea, Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed. "Hey, Hinata!" He called loudly. "Want to team up with us?" Sakura smacked him across the face for this as Shikamaru eyed them suspiciously.

"Shut up, you dolt!" Sakura hissed.

"Sakura…" Naruto looked dumbfounded. "What was that for?"

"Are you familiar with strategy?" Sakura asked sarcastically. "You just gave away our whole plan! Now Shikamaru and Shino are going to keep in mind that we are working together with Team Chōji."

"Who cares? I'll still whoop their butts!" Naruto said confidently. "Joking! Joking!" He hastily amended himself as Sakura shot him a dirty look.

"Shall we begin?" Shino's voice broke up the conversing between the two opposing teams.

"Yeah!" Kiba exclaimed.

Shikamaru reached forward and handed Chōji and Naruto a timer each. "This is set for twenty minutes. As soon as it reaches seventeen, you take off and try to find us. If you fail to get a bell before the time ends, it's our victory."

"Not gonna happen!" Naruto declared.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and raised his hand. "Begin!" As he and Shino took off in a flash, Naruto and Chōji activated their timers. The seconds slowly began ticking down as Sakura looked at the group.

"Well, Naruto already gave away the whole plan, but would you like to team up with us? Ultimately, either they will win or lose, and teaming up increases the chance that we can defeat them."

"Y…yes," Hinata shyly smiled at Naruto.

Chōji was snacking on some potato chips as he contemplated the odds. "Five on two seems a little unfair…" he said with his mouth full.

"Well, Shikamaru was the one who arranged the teams in the first place," Naruto said, but Chōji shook his head.

"No, I meant unfair for **us**."

"Don't be a baby," Kiba laughed. "Shikamaru's fight wasn't that impressive and from what I've seen in the Ninja Academy, he was just a lazy loser. And Shino…well, Shino is Shino…but together, we can still defeat them."

"You underestimate them," Chōji warned as _17:00_ flashed on the timer.

"Let's go!" Naruto took off.

"Hey! Wait a second!" Kiba exclaimed irritably.

"What is it?" Naruto shot back in a similar tone. Kiba scowled and tapped his nose as Akamaru poked his head out of his master's coat curiously.

"We're tracking right now, genius. You leave this part to me." As he entered into his beast form, his nose perked up and his eyes danced excitedly. "Follow me!"

Kiba was as good a tracker as the group could have hoped for, and after five minutes, they were hot on Team Shino's tail. As Naruto bounded through the forest with his comrades, a lone figure came into sight. "Look! There's Shino!" Naruto exclaimed, charging at Shino eagerly with Kiba flanking him.

"Naruto, no!" Hinata's eyes flashed as she screamed, but it was too late. Hinata caught Chōji with her arm and pulled him back as Naruto and Kiba both became immobilized. Sakura recognized the trap in time to successfully come to an abrupt stop and retreat cautiously.

"What the hell is this?" Naruto asked bewildered, staring at Shino. He gasped as he pointed down towards the ground below Shino. "His feet! They're gone!"

"Damn! I can't believe I fell for this!" Kiba groaned. As if on cue, Shikamaru stepped out from behind Shino, raising a jingling bell seductively.

"You guessed it," Shikamaru grinned. With the snap of his fingers, Shino's form dissolved into a swarm of bugs.

"I'm confused," Naruto confessed.

"What we thought was Shino was just a clone he made out of bugs," Kiba said through gritted teeth. "Shikamaru just had to hide in the trees behind him and go under the clone with his shadow. Each of the bugs was flying so "Shino" would appear to be standing, but where the feet should have been was where Shikamaru's jutsu would be attacking us."

"Bingo!" Shikamaru said. _But what you don't know is that I probably wouldn't have been able to capture you guys without the shadow that the clone cast. _"Game over, guys!" Naruto and Kiba yelled in alarm as they were pelted by sleeping gas bombs. As the smoke cleared up, their unconscious forms came into sight.

"Those idiots," Sakura scowled.

"Not a very flattering sight," Shikamaru commented towards the two drooling hotheads. "Well, that's two down," he taunted as he raised his index and middle fingers towards the two girls and Chōji.

"Hinata, do you see Shino?" Sakura asked.

Veins consumed her face as Hinata activated her Byakugan, her range of sight virtually unhampered by the trees and debris of the forest battleground."Yes…but he is taking off pretty quickly. Should we go after him?"

"No," Chōji said eyeing Shikamaru carefully. "It will take at least all of us to steal just one bell from Shikamaru. But I know his weakness and I'll need your help for this."

"We're all ears," Sakura replied.

Shikamaru watched the trio engage in formulating a strategy with mild interest. As his opponents faced him, he noticed a sparkle in their eyes as Chōji hand suddenly enlarged. He swore loudly and dove to the side as Chōji's fist smashed through the forest. Panting, he stared back at his best friend.

"Your shadows don't do any good if you can't connect them to mine!" Chōji said triumphantly. "All we've got to do is stop you from activating your jutsu!"

"Don't be rash about this, Chōji!" Shikamaru warned, but Chōji scoffed.

"We'll support you, Chōji!" Sakura yelled. "Go nuts!"

"Thanks, Sakura!" Chōji's body expanded and curled into a ball. "Human Bolder!"

"Damn!" Shikamaru dived to the side, narrowly avoiding his robust friend's attack. As he pulled back into position, he prepared his jutsu, only to find his arm painfully grazed by a kunai. Turning quickly, he saw Sakura launching projectiles at him.

"You're harmless if we don't give you the chance to use your Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Sakura exclaimed as she hurled kunai at him. She lacked the precision of Tenten, but Shikamaru was forced to dodge all the same.

"You guys are so annoying!" Shikamaru complained as Chōji rolled towards him once more. "Damn…can't dodge in time!" Shikamaru reduced the brunt of the attack slightly by blocking with his forearms. Nonetheless, the blow sent him flying.

"Now, Hinata!" Sakura yelled. Before Shikamaru could even blink, Hinata had dived on him, palming a chakra node in his chest with precision that only a Hyūga could possess. Shikamaru gasped as they crashed together into the ground painfully. As he opened his eyes, he found three kunai pointed at his throat.

"Good job," he winced painfully. "You guys are able to cooperate pretty well."

"Yeah we are!" Sakura exclaimed triumphantly. "Now hand over your bell!"

"Do you see a bell on me?" Shikamaru asked dryly as he raised his empty hands.

Sakura's eyes widened and she pressed the kunai closer to Shikamaru's neck. "Where did it go?" She demanded.

"Shino's bugs made off with it." Shikamaru grinned. "I tossed it to them about the time Chōji first began his attacks. You guys were so caught up in attacking me that you didn't even notice. Did you really think Shino was just hanging around doing nothing? I served as the decoy for this exercise. He is in possession of both of the bells."

"Oh no!" Hinata exclaimed fretfully.

"Quick, let's knock him out and go after Shino!" Sakura said viciously, reaching for Shikamaru's sleeping gas bombs. As her fingers were within grasp, an obnoxious beeping caught her attention. She turned to Chōji who was holding up his timer with a defeated expression on his face, and back to her opponent who was grinning.

Shikamaru shook his head deliberately as he retrieved a dangling timer from his right pocket. Slowly, he raised it above his head to reveal the blinking _0:00_. "It's too late. Time's up. You guys lose."

**Winner: Team Shino**

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**Author's Note: The month long break is going to have several different fights and exercises that the manga did not even approach. Please tell me what you think of this. It is not filler; there will be some important happenings during this break that will impact the rest of the story, but nonetheless, I can extend or reduce the training by a few chapters depending on how my readers respond to it. Favorite, review, follow, and hopefully enjoy!**

**Crow**


	13. Melee Rumble II

**Chapter 13: Unofficial Bouts: Melee Rumble II**

**Exercise 2: Ultimate Beach Volleyball**

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**Disclaimer: The volleyball rules depicted in this chapter are not legitimate. Please don't project hatred onto me since I am offering a sufficient warning here and now.**

* * *

Naruto's eyes fluttered open as he discovered that he was on his back, drool dripping down his chin. Wiping it off gently, he looked around dazed before realizing there was a warm head lying on his lap.

"Sakura?" He asked gleefully, slowly brushing hair with his fingers. As a flea began bouncing up his hand, his face became green and he looked down in dread.

"Aaaaarrrrggghhhh!"

"Naruto, what is it?!" Shikamaru emerged from behind some trees, supported by Chōji and Sakura. Hinata and Shino were walking behind them. Naruto pointed a finger at the group accusingly.

"Why is Kiba asleep on my lap?" He demanded.

"Because you're an idiot that gives away battle plans, charges head-first into a potential trap, and gets knocked out immediately after you encounter an enemy," Sakura said venomously. Naruto frowned; he didn't remember any of that.

"At any rate, if you and Kiba are awake now, we can begin the next exercise," Shino said.

"Yeah! I need to avenge myself!" Naruto exclaimed. "But we need Kiba to wake up first."

"Don't worry; I know how to wake people up," Sakura declared.

"Really?" Chōji asked impressed.

"Absolutely," Sakura said. She stooped down to Kiba and gently touched his face before she slapped him hard enough to knock him unconscious again. "WAKE UP DAMMIT!" She roared, wrangling his neck as the others turned away awkwardly.

"Agh! I'm awake!" Kiba yelped, defensively curling into a ball. Sakura stopped instantly with no visible signs that she had been whaling on Kiba. She was not even breathing hard.

"Good. Then let's begin," she said nonchalantly. "What is the next exercise we are doing?"

"The…marathon," Shikamaru said weakly. Sakura gave him an evil look.

"Want to elaborate?" She asked, cracking her fists.

Shikamaru flinched. "Well, I'm going to stay out of this one since I'm not in good shape after you guys beat the crap out of me," he eyed Hinata, Chōji, and Sakura. "But here's what it's gonna be. Any good genin can climb trees by focusing chakra to their feet. Well, an advanced version of that is walking on water."

"Hey! That's what I've been doing with Pervy Sage the past week!" Naruto exclaimed.

Shikamaru ignored him and continued. "Since it is such an important skill to master, you will be running a marathon on the river. You can do anything you want to, but you cannot attack one another using ninjutsu. You can waste your chakra however you like, but it would be troublesome if two or more of you ran out of chakra or were so badly injured from attacking each other that you drown. I will be the "life guard" in this exercise so no one will drown, but as long as you aren't attacking each other, I think we'll be good."

"Let's get started!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Do you see any rivers?" Shikamaru scowled. "We need to go deeper into the forest."

After half an hour of trekking, the group finally made it through the thicket and came out near a sandy shore. Hinata squealed in delight and quickly took her shoes off so that she could feel the sand beneath her feet. Akamaru was sniffing the shore curiously and had begun digging fiercely near a tangle of weeds. Shikamaru dropped all the baggage to the ground with a groan as everyone temporarily relaxed.

"Well…guess we had better get started," Shikamaru said.

Kiba lifted his hand in an attempt to usher silence. "Shh! Do you guys hear that?" The other genin looked at him curiously. Kiba beckoned them forth, creeping along silently. Brushing aside some leaves, he peered through the opening before falling back to the ground trembling and red-faced.

"Kiba! What happened?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto!" Kiba screamed in alarm. "Don't!" But it was too late. Naruto peered through and collapsed to the ground bloody faced and mouth agape.

"What the hell?!" Sakura exclaimed shocked. "What is it?" She peeked through and turned back to Kiba and Naruto exasperated. "…you kidding me?" She slapped them across the faces as she stepped out from behind the branches.

Naruto and Kiba's weakness became clear quickly as the group stepped into the opening. Tenten was bouncing a volleyball over a net with her teammates in a black and blue two-pieced bikini. Neji was returning it in a pair of white shorts, and Lee and his sensei, as it might be expected, were engaged in beach play in their green jumpsuits.

"Let's go, Lee!" Guy commanded. "Show them the power of youth!"

"Yes, sensei!" Lee exclaimed, performing a backflip and returning the ball with a vicious kick. Tenten yelped and dove to the side as it smashed into the ground and bounced towards Sakura.

"Why, do my eyes deceive me, or have we found new players?" Guy exclaimed joyously. Shino eyed Neji disdainfully as his group approached Team Guy.

"Sorry to bother you, Guy-sensei," Sakura apologized. "We were going to train around here and Kiba heard you guys playing so we decided to come investigate."

"Training! How very admirable!" Guy nodded approvingly. "Then it's settled! We'll train together!"

"What?" Tenten screamed outraged. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Guy. "No! I refuse to train right now! We earned this break and I want to have fun playing volleyball for a while!"

"But of course!" Guy looked scandalized that Tenten implied he had meant anything to the contrary. "We'll train while we play volleyball!"

"Say what?" Tenten raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "And how are we going to do that?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, gather around," Guy shouted. As the genin grouped around the jōnin, Guy surveyed the ninja, splitting them up mentally before announcing the teams. "Lee, Naruto, Kiba, Chōji, and Hinata, you guys are Team 1. Neji, Tenten, Shino, Sakura, and Shikamaru, you guys are Team 2. We aren't playing a traditional game since I'm not so hot with the rules. Seven points determines the winner, and you've gotta win by at least two. If the receiving team wins the point, they get to serve. This is a rally scoring method game, meaning that both the serving team and the receiving team can win the point. You can play any position and use any jutsu you want to, but remember, this match is about teamwork!"

"Only seven points?" Tenten complained. "This is going to be a really quick game…"

"Don't be so sure," Guy winked. "This is just as much about strategy and your skills as a ninja as any mission is.

"That's brilliant, Guy-sensei!" Rock Lee exclaimed.

"That does sound pretty fun," Sakura admitted.

"And just to keep things simple, I'll be calling the scores with Team 1 listed first and Team 2 listed second, so keep your ears open."

"Well, let's get started!" Naruto exclaimed. He cast a sidelong glance at Rock Lee and smirked. "Even though we're going against each other in the next round, let's make this fun, Bushy Brows!"

"I couldn't agree more!" Lee exclaimed clenching his fist.

"Let's do our best…Naruto," Hinata twiddled her fingers awkwardly.

"What a drag," Shikamaru sighed.

Shino peered at Neji as they lined up in the front beside each other. Shikamaru was sandwiched between Sakura and Tenten in the back. "I will work with you," Shino declared, "but I don't like you." Neji stared back at Shino nonplussed.

"We can't fall behind, Naruto," Kiba told his teammate. "We've gotta redeem ourselves for that last exercise."

"You said it!" Naruto declared in the front, side-by-side with Lee. Kiba and Chōji took the wing positions in the back while Hinata held the center position.

"Okay you guys…" Guy sat down in a fold up chair and cracked open a bottle of saké. "Begin!"

"I'll start!" Sakura tossed the ball over her head and knocked it over the net.

"I've got it!" Naruto and Lee said simultaneously. "What?" They stared at each other surprised as the ball sailed past their outreached hands.

"**0-1**!" Guy exclaimed.

"I totally had that," Naruto complained.

"Please, Naruto," Lee said. "That ball was clearly in my territory."

"You've gotta do better than that," Sakura said as she knocked the ball once again. Naruto and Lee bumped heads painfully as they both dove for it.

"**0-2**!"

"Dammit, I'm switching to the front," Kiba exclaimed irritably.

"No, Kiba!" Lee and Naruto both stopped him with an outreached hand. "We've got each other figured out now."

"We'll see about that," Sakura said as she hit the ball at the duo once more.

"Now, Bushy Brows!" Naruto yelled, sliding towards the middle. Lee jumped on Naruto's back and went airborne. The opposing team admired the handsome devil's silhouette in the gorgeous sunlight before he slammed the ball down with vigor. It hit Shikamaru painfully in the stomach, knocking him off his feet. As he lay on the ground in a daze, Guy cheered loudly.

"Excellent combo shot, you two!" He exclaimed. "Team 1 is now serving! **1-2**."

"You've got this, Kiba!" Naruto cheered.

"Duh!" Kiba activated his hand seals. "Ninja Art Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!" Sinking to his hands and knees, he growled at the opposition. "You're toast!" He jumped high into the air, fueled by the additional animalistic instincts his jutsu endowed him with, and served the ball hard toward the other team. It seemed like a sure thing, until…

"Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation!" Team 1 gasped as the ball was returned by a burst of chakra, soaring over Naruto and Lee's head straight towards Kiba.

"Oh no you don't!" Kiba dived for the ball, tipping it back over as he tumbled on the ground. Neji jumped into the air spinning rapidly, expelled chakra from all points of his body, and thrusting the ball back at Team 1 with a rapid speed. It bounced off the area that Kiba had stood right before his heroic save. He watched it glumly as he dusted himself off and returned to his position.

"**1-3**." Guy called out. "Team 2's serve once again."

"You cannot defeat my Byakugan," Neji taunted.

Kiba grinned in retaliation. "We've got someone with the Byakugan too." Hinata looked startled at being thrust into the spotlight so suddenly. "You can do it, Hinata."

"Yeah, we believe in you!" Naruto cheered.

"N…Naruto…" Hinata's face flushed red with pleasure as Sakura served the ball. Chōji was able to get a hand on it, slapping it over. Hinata activated her Byakugan as Neji moved into his Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation.

"Chōji!" She barked. "45 degrees!" Chōji looked startled, but positioned himself accordingly and found that the ball fell exactly into his hands.

Roaring, Chōji's hand enlarged and he lifted it back before slapping the ball up with all of his might. Team 2 gasped as the ball went soaring upwards, higher and higher until it was completely out of sight.

"Did he hit it out?" Tenten asked.

Neji squinted upwards."Grr, I can't see anything! The ball is hiding in front of the sun!" As he said this, the ball fell to the ground behind him.

"**2-3**!"

"Good job, guys!" Naruto and Kiba cheered. Lee flashed Guy a confident victory pose, to which his sensei returned with vigor.

"Guess it's our turn again," Kiba began to lift the ball.

"Wait a second, Kiba," Naruto said. "I want to try serving."

"Oh? Well knock yourself out!" Kiba handed Naruto the ball and bumped Chōji down to the front beside Lee.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Team 2 looked livid as ten or twenty Naruto doppelgangers appeared with a puff of smoke and began stacking on top of one another.

"You can't do that!" Tenten complained.

"Why not?" Naruto taunted. "I'm the only one touching the ball and I'm standing behind the service line."

"I'm afraid he's right," Guy said. "This is a legal strategy."

"Hahaha! Here I go," said the Naruto on top of the pyramid. "Super Naruto Spike!" He was about to perform an exceptionally vicious spike when suddenly each of his clones went limp and he felt his own body go numb. "What the…?" The ball fell pitifully from his hands and hit the ground.

"**2-4**!"

Naruto looked down, outraged to discover his shadows connected to Shikamaru. "Not this again!" He complained. "Isn't this interference, ref?"

"He isn't touching you," Guy said. "Clean move."

"Naruto, that isn't the only problem…" Lee groaned. Naruto looked at his comrades surprised to find that they too were wrapped up in Shikamaru's jutsu.

"Hurry up, guys," Shikamaru groaned at his teammates. "I can only keep this up for about five minutes." His team cheered and got positioned to serve.

"T…Time-out!" Hinata exclaimed. Everyone turned their eyes on Guy who suddenly looked rather uncomfortable.

"Well…I guess I'll allow one time-out per team," he said. "Since I didn't think to establish this before the game."

"Mannn," Shikamaru sighed, releasing his jutsu.

"Good thinking, Hinata!" Kiba sighed in relief as they huddled together. "What are we gonna do about Shikamaru? If he captures us all with that again, we're done for."

"Guys," Naruto surveyed his team with a gleam in his eyes. "I've got an idea."

"Time's up!" Guy said after several minutes. "Resume the game!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. In an instant, the court was covered in Naruto's presence. Shikamaru scowled.

"That's not gonna do you any good, Naruto. It just creates one larger collection of shadows for me to capture. It'll cost a little extra chakra, but it is simple enough to capture one as it is twenty."

"Only one way to find out!" The many Narutos said.

"You asked for it…Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru retaliated. His shadow captured the entirety of Team 1, clones and all, without any issues.

"Drats! Looks like you got us," Naruto groaned dramatically.

"Now quick!" Shikamaru urged his team.

"Thanks, Shikamaru," Tenten took the ball. "Here I go!" She tossed the ball into the air and as she pulled back her hand to serve, Naruto grinned.

"Now!" He yelled. Both teams shielded their eyes as an overwhelming light erupted from the Naruto clones. "Taste my new volleyball technique: Multi Shadow Clone: Blinding Moon Jutsu!"

"What…what is that?" Tenten cried as she squinted through the light. The clones, now freed of Shikamaru's grasp, all turned around and dropped their pants at this. A flash bomb tag had been stuck on each of their buttocks.

"My eyes!" Sakura screamed.

"What a blinding full moon!" Neji commented.

Shino squinted. "Actually…I believe it is merely Naruto's ass."

"Urg…the light is making the shadows disappear!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"But I'm still getting the ball over!" Tenten declared, fighting back the tears in her eyes as she knocked the ball over. "And if we can't see, neither can you!" There was a flurry of movement that no one was able to visualize, but as the light faded, the world came back into focus.

"What the...why is the ball on our side?" Sakura exclaimed as Team 1 cheered.

"Are you kidding?" Kiba bragged, tapping his nose triumphantly. "I could smell the rubber on that ball a mile away."

"My, my," Guy said impressed. "**3-4!**"

"Urg! I can't believe they got us!" Tenten said.

"And now, it's our turn!" Naruto took the ball. "Let's try this again. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" More clones appeared and formed a pyramid. "Want to try your jutsu again?" He taunted Shikamaru who flinched.

"Nah…I think I'm good."

"Then here we go!" Naruto was tossed into the air by his clones as he slammed the ball. It flew toward Team 2 with more fury than any previous shot of the day.

"I don't think so!" Neji yelled. "Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation!" He was able to deflect the ball, but due to the incredible speed, the ball went spinning the wrong way.

"Urg!" Bugs crawled around Shino's hand quickly as he dove for the ball, extending his reach in a swarm of kikaichū. He was able to deflect the ball back over the net, but Lee was prepared for this.

"Leaf Gale!" He exclaimed, spinning into a rear low kick with enough force to kick the ball high into the air.

"Damn sun," Neji growled as it landed behind him.

"**4-4**!" Guy exclaimed. "You guys are tied up for the first time!"

"Time-out," Shino said. Guy sighed and allowed the two teams to huddle while he sipped on his saké. After a moment, he stood up impatiently.

"Alright, time is up. No more time-outs!"

"Fine by us," Neji said as he and Shino stood side-by-side once more in the front. "Let's finish this!"

"I'm going to end this in one hit!" Naruto bragged. "Super Naruto Spike!" The ball flew over the net with the same velocity as his previous vicious serves, but as it dropped onto Team 2's side, the speed suddenly was reduced to nothing.

"What is that?" Chōji asked surprised.

"My friends," Shino replied coolly. "Ready, Neji?"

"You bet!" Shino scattered his bugs that were causing the ball to levitate down slowly as Neji activated his defense, shooting the ball back at Team 1.

"I've got this!" Lee exclaimed, jumping up to spike the ball. He gasped in surprise as the ball carried enough force to slam him out of the court even as he hit with all his strength. He toppled into Guy just as the jōnin was beginning to pour some more sake down his throat.

"Nooooooooo!" Guy yelled. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the remaining yellowish liquid splashed out of the clear bottle and into Lee's wide-open mouth. Tenten's mouth dropped open as Lee gargled on the alcohol before swallowing it. Lee remained silently on the ground for a moment.

"Uh…**4-5**," Guy said weakly as he rushed over to Lee. "Lee! Lee! Are you all right?" Guy shook his prodigy viciously. In the blink of an eye, he was surprised to find Lee hunched over behind him.

"GUY-SENSEI!" Lee cried, tackling Guy to the ground and locking his arms around the older man's midsection in a vicious hug. Guy twitched as his body left a deep imprint in the ground.

"Bushy Brows! Get back over here!" Naruto called out. "Drunk or not, we need you!"

"Cominggggg!" Lee exclaimed in a singsong voice. Neji and Tenten groaned together.

"We might be in trouble," Neji said resignedly.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Why? Wouldn't Lee being drunk be an advantage to us?"

"Well, actually –"

"Hey!" Lee exclaimed as he swiftly tiptoed back into position. "Shaddup and throw tha frickin' ball!" He squinted at Sakura as he noticed her appalled gaze. "Hey, Naruto," he whispered loudly. "Who's the chick with the wide forehead?"

Naruto cringed as Sakura shot them a look of pure death. He was fairly certain he saw the flames of wrath dancing around her.

"L…let's start!" Hinata said in an attempt to defuse the tension.

"Yeah, let's." Sakura pushed Tenten to the side and took the ball. The entire court marveled at the demonic aura surrounding her, save the oblivious Lee. "This one is coming straight for your face!" She yelled, slamming the ball with all her strength. Lee hiccupped as the ball headed on course with his skull.

"Bush Brows! Get out of the way!" Naruto cried. Lee faced Naruto solemnly, though his face was still very red.

"Naruto…hic! You's a goodddddddd friend!" The ball hit Lee's head hard with enough force that it easily bounced back to the second team's side as Lee went down clutching his head.

"I've got it!" Tenten yelled as she volleyed the ball back over.

"THAT HURT, YOU JERK!" Lee exclaimed teary-eyed. He performed a spinning jump and punched the ball…seven times? It flew towards the team, bouncing off each member before hitting the ground.

"Owww," Shikamaru complained. "What the hell?"

"**5-5**!" Guy declared.

"All right!" Team 1 cheered. As Shino tossed the ball to Naruto, Lee caught it and clutched it to his chest.

"Hey, mo…mo…move over, Naruto. I wanna, are you listenin' to me? I wanna give it a shot." Naruto looked at his teammates questioningly. They answered him with a helpless shrug.

"Err…here you go…we're counting on you," he said. Lee clapped Naruto on the back and bounced up and down at the service line.

"Let's gooooooo!" He howled, serving the ball. It headed straight for Neji.

"You fool!" Neji exclaimed. "Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation!" The ball bounced back, but Neji gasped as Lee ran up, ignoring his teammates, and smashed the ball down once more. Neji began spinning again, reflecting the ball, but Lee caught it for the umpteenth time and brought it down.

"Hey…c'mon now," Shikamaru groaned as Lee viciously pelted Neji with the ball in a continuous cycle of offense and defense.

"Dieeeee!" Lee roared as he came down on the ball. Neji moved into his defense once more only to realize that no ball had made contact with him. "Psyche!" Lee hooted gleefully as the ball softly hit the ground at a corner. Neji's face grew red as Team 1 burst into cheers.

"**6-5**!" Guy exclaimed. "If Team 1 gets the next point, they win!"

"Let's go, guys!" Tenten cheered. "We've gotta defend this serve at all costs!"

"All costs, eh?" Shikamaru rubbed his chin in contemplation.

"Springtime of youth!" Lee cried ecstatically as he threw the ball high into the air. "Hyoooooo!" He felt his body tense up as he realized that Shikamaru had connected his shadow to Team 1 once more.

"Shikamaru, you bastard!" Naruto yelled.

"Shut up, Naruto. We're not going out that easily."

Lee watched the soaring ball gradually lose speed as it ascended until finally, it had reached its maximum height and was now returning to the ground. "This…this jutsu…CANNOT HOLD ME BACK!" Lee screamed, breaking out of Shikamaru's grasp with a mighty push of will and strength.

"Impossible!" Shikamaru exclaimed. "How did he break through?"

"Because I am…A GENIUS OF HARD WORK!" Lee's victory cry added a strange emotion to his serve, and despite Neji's defense, Shino's barricade of bugs, Shikamaru's body-restricting jutsu, and two additional defenders, the ball breached through all obstacles and hit the ground with a light tap.

"**7-5**! Team 1 wins!" Guy cheered.

Lee passed out as his cheering team ran and embraced him, lifting his unconscious body up and tossing it in the air. Team 2 watched the scene with mixed feelings of bitterness and satisfaction.

"That was…pretty tough," Sakura sighed as she fell to the ground.

"Was that an enjoyable break?" Shino asked Tenten who was wiping dirt and sweat from her bare stomach. She burst into laughter.

"If all of my moments of rest and relaxation are like that, I'll never ask for another one again. I think I'm ready to train now!" The rest of her team laughed with her as Neji surveyed Lee, now lying peacefully on the ground, drooling in the sand as he muttered nonsensical words.

"It's remarkable…in the end, we were no match for a drunken idiot."

**Winner: Team 1**

* * *

**Author's Note: Most of my chapters have been around 5-6 pages, but I went well over that at 11 pages with this chapter. This chapter was a bit of a gamble, but I enjoyed writing it immensely and I hope you enjoyed reading it. My inspiration for this particular chapter can be credited to some of the side chapters in **_**The Prince of Tennis**_**. It sounded like fun and I thought some ninja volleyball would be tight. If this chapter wasn't to your liking, please let me know in civil terms. If this chapter was the highlight of my series, that is also valuable information for me. Review, favorite, follow! **

**Crow**


	14. Melee Rumble III

**Chapter 14: Unofficial Bouts: Melee Rumble III**

**Exercise 3: The River Marathon **

"Lee…Lee? Lee! LEE! LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Huh?" Rock Lee sprung to his feet in alarm, despite having been the unconscious hero of the previous exercise. He looked around in surprise to find that only Guy had remained and was now on his back looking up at Lee in surprise with his teary face. "What's the matter, Guy-sensei?"

"Oh, good! You're awake now!" Guy exclaimed delighted. He grabbed Lee by the hand and began speed walking. "Follow me!"

"But what's going on?"

"The last exercise of the day is about to start!" Guy's eyes gleamed. "The marathon!" Lee's eyes widened at this and in an instant, Guy was the one being dragged.

"Let's go, sensei!" Lee exclaimed. As they emerged in front of the river, they caught sight of the rest of the genin stretching. Naruto looked at the duo with interest.

"Oh, Bushy Brows! You're awake!"

"Yes, Naruto, and I'm ready for a race!" Lee exclaimed.

Shikamaru groaned. "I explained the rules before volleyball and I explained the rules to Neji and Tenten after it. It's too troublesome to do it again. You can do anything you want, but you cannot physically harm the other racers. Also, if you go under the water, you are disqualified."

"I see," Lee said, stretching with the group.

"How far is a marathon?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"26.2 miles," Shikamaru said. He pointed to a distant island, consumed in green shrubbery and trees. "The first one to hit the shore will be the winner. It's not _exactly_ the proper distance, but it'll do."

"Well, let's get started!" Kiba exclaimed. Akamaru concurred enthusiastically through his barking.

"I'm gonna sit this one out," Shikamaru said. "Guy and I will be the refs and life guards. Do your best."

Guy looked rather depressed. "I was hoping to join them in their youth…"

"Who are you kidding?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow. "You're an old jōnin! It wouldn't be fair to let you participate in this."

"I suppose you're right," Guy mumbled, paralleling Shikamaru out on the water. Everyone else waited at the starting line, eagerly preparing for the race. Shikamaru glanced at Guy to ensure that both were properly stationed before turning back to the competitors.

"Ready…" Everyone tensed. "Set…" A brisk gust passed over the genin as Shikamaru's mouth rounded up for the final word. "GO!"

The genin took off simultaneously and Shikamaru was surprised to discover that the leader was Sakura.

"I never got the impression she was that quick," he said to Guy with a raised eyebrow. Guy shrugged.

"Her chakra control is superb," he stated, "but it's going to take a lot more than that to win this."

Sakura was tailed closely by Lee and Kiba, neither of whom had excellent chakra control but made up for it with their superior physical abilities. Kiba was already in beast-mode, having utilized his All-Fours Jutsu prior to Lee's arrival. Neji followed Kiba, and was in turn followed by Tenten. Both had an excellent combination of chakra control and physical conditioning, and combined with their experience, they could potentially leave the other competitors in the dust, so to speak. Hinata was sprinting behind Tenten, and her teammate Shino was close behind. Naruto and Chōji brought up the rear, a fact that irked Naruto immensely.

"What the hell? Why am I in last place besides fatass?" He yelled in frustration.

A vein popped in Chōji's head as he raised his arm. "I'M NOT FAT, DAMMIT! PARTIAL EXPANSION JUTSU!"

"W…wait a second, Chōji!" Naruto's eyes widened. "We aren't allowed to harm the other racers!"

"Who said anything about harming?" Chōji brought his arm down towards Naruto. The genin flinched in preparation of a blow, but discovered with relief that Chōji had missed him.

"Guess your aim needs some improvement," Naruto commented. Chōji smirked and Naruto quickly realized why. Chōji's fist created a massive air bubble in the water that erupted, propelling Naruto into the air. Screaming, he was somehow able to recover his wits enough to regain his chakra control before he hit the water, shakily landing to discover that Chōji was now ahead of him.

"So long!" Chōji exclaimed triumphantly. Naruto stood speechless for a moment before he roared.

"That fat bastard! Well, a little setback like this is nothing for the future Hokage!" Naruto sprung to his feet and took off after the group. By now, the rest of the genin had caught on to the tactics available to them in this race as well, and they were putting such strategies to use.

Tenten had sped up and passed Neji to his surprise. "Sorry, Neji!" Tenten yelled as she hurled several kunai a few steps in front of him. Thanks to his Byakugan, he was able to see the letter bombs attached in time to avoid the watery step he would have otherwise taken as Tenten's weapons passed through the river. Hinata was able to turn quickly as well, but Shino, lacking the perception of the Hyuga cousins, fell victim to the trap. As the bombs detonated about ten feet down, a massive wave kicked up and tossed him into the air. Landing in the water on his head, he was unable to avoid going under the river.

"Shino's out!" Shikamaru exclaimed as the bug master came up gasping for breath. As Shino joined Shikamaru and Guy at the sidelines, he grinned rather wickedly.

"I'm out of the race, but now the real fun begins."

"What do you mean?" Guy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"From the beginning, I knew I had the lowest chance of success out of my teammates," Shino said, "so I planted female kikaichū on everyone. Now that I'm out, the male kikaichū are going to swarm. Let's see how far they can get with their chakra being drained."

His devilish strategy did not slip past his comrades who felt their chakra being drained. "Dammit, Shino…" Kiba muttered, tempted to start swatting around his body for the bugs he knew were there, though he could not see anything. The other contenders understood that their chakra was disappearing at an alarming rate, and the speed picked up rapidly. The leaders were starting to cross the halfway mark and were picking up speed, though the battle behind them was becoming increasingly crazed.

"Damn letter bombs," Neji growled as with every other step, he was barely able to sidestep the trap Tenten had planted for him. He possessed a few letter bombs himself, and with a properly placed one, he might have a chance of eliminating Tenten, but if he failed, he would be out of options. Rotation used up far too much chakra and nothing else in his arsenal would be extremely effective for a nonviolent competition. Not to mention the chakra eating bugs he and Hinata were able to see, though the instant one dies, another rapidly takes its place. Sound strategy…

"Human Boulder!" Neji realized with alarm thanks to the aid of his Byakugan that Chōji had assumed his bulbous ball-shaped form and was spinning rapidly on the water close behind him. Hinata had moved to his left so the three were neck and neck, but Neji was more focused on the robust contender.

_He only has so much chakra…the __kikaichū are_ _clearly feeding on his energies as well. With this strategy, he'll be out of the race in no time. _Neji smirked triumphantly before he heard a sinister chuckle ahead of him.

"Hehehe…"

"Damn!" Neji's eyes widened as Tenten threw another kunai into the water in front of him, a letter bomb fastened around the handle. He was sandwiched between Hinata and Chōji, though surely one would move in the face of the obvious trap, right? But Hinata was determinedly stuck at his side and even Chōji seemed to have slowed down just so Neji could not sidestep. Forward or backward?

"Forward!" Neji exclaimed, sprinting with all of his might in an attempt to surpass the watery explosion. As he sprinted ahead, Hinata moved further left just as Tenten's trap detonated. Neji found his speed did little to save him from being swept off his feet by the enormous wave that ensued, though Chōji, still in his expanded state, was unaffected. "Damn you, Tenten!" Neji howled as he went summersaulting across the top layer of water before becoming trapped under the surface by the momentum of the waves that had so powerfully carried him in the first place. A flash of silver went up as he went down. Shikamaru watched the scene with wry amusement.

"Neji's down!"

"Nice!" Tenten cheered triumphantly. A second explosion occurred beneath the waves as she lowered her guard in celebration.

"Vengence!" Neji gasped as he rose to the surface. Tenten screamed as Neji's last ditch effort succeeded, sending her flying backwards as well.

"Tenten is out as well!" Shikamaru exclaimed. Tenten surfaced, shaking the droplets out of her hair. She laughed in spite of herself and took Neji's hand as he pulled her on top of the water and began walking back towards their sensei. They were nearly trampled by Naruto who was eagerly charging through, pushed off by his clones with every step he took.

"Faster, faster, faster, FASTER!" Naruto exclaimed as he used a minimal amount of chakra with every step, creating a shadow clone beneath him which would instantly toss him forward and disappear in a cloud of smoke.

"Not bad," Guy admitted with a hint of admiration. "He's pretty innovative."

"So I see," Shikamaru said. "But at the rate he's spending chakra, he'll be down in no time."

"No," Neji said, his eyes flashing as he surveyed the remaining contenders. "He still has a surprisingly abundant amount of chakra left. The next one to go is gonna be…"

"Sakura!" Lee exclaimed as Sakura dropped beneath the waves, fatigue evident on her face. At this point, Kiba had long broken ahead of the duo, using his Tunneling Fang attack to pick up speed and rapidly get ahead, kicking and hitting up water as he left. Lee was forbidden by Guy from utilizing the majority of his techniques, and though he was despondent over this, he was still optimistic that he could win with effort alone. But this was a completely different story.

As Sakura ran out of chakra and fell deep into the river, too weary to move her arms and legs, Lee dived below the surface after her, kicking with every muscle in his body to recover her. As her gorgeous pink hair flashed before his eyes, he scooped her up and returned to the surface, cradling her as he emerged from the depths. Inhaling deeply as his vision returned, Guy's furious face was the first thing he saw before a foot powerfully connected with Lee's torso, causing him to drop Sakura as he went flying across the water, skipping on it the way a rock might, before he inevitably collided with a large bolder pointing up jaggedly from a shallow portion of the river. As he recovered wearily, he eyed his sensei timidly.

"Guy-sensei?"

"Lee! You idiot!" Guy barked, causing Lee to wince. "Do you understand what a life guard is? Sakura was in no danger; Shikamaru and I were coming after her the instant Neji told us she was out of chakra!"

"I'm sorry, Guy-sensei," Lee muttered as Guy continued to chastise him, while Shikamaru carried Sakura carefully on his shoulder.

"Well, Sakura and Lee are both out now," he said, "which leaves Kiba, Hinata, Chōji, and Naruto. Neji, where does everyone stand right now?"

Neji remained silent for a moment. "Well, Kiba is winning, but…you aren't going to believe what Naruto is doing…"

"YEAH! This is awesome!" Naruto howled as he passed by Lee and Guy, spraying water everywhere. Chōji was still somehow able to retain his Human Bolder state and had long passed Hinata, but Naruto had been able to successfully catch up, and using his shadow clones, roped himself around Chōji so that he was being pulled across the water at inhuman speeds. Two doppelgangers were strapped to his feet like water skis, and as he carefully watched Chōji, he knew the big man was probably near his limits.

"Let's do it, guys!" Naruto called out to his clones. The clones still caught around Chōji nodded and yanked Naruto forward with all their might. Added with Chōji's momentum, they were able to catapult Naruto into the sky. Guy and Lee watched mesmerized as he soared in front of the sun. Neji's mouth dropped and Tenten gasped at the sight, and even Sakura weakly opened her eyes in admiration of the spectacle. In midair, Naruto created falling clones below him, pulling his hands and propelling him towards the water at even greater speeds, while he cushioned himself with several clones. As the clones burst into nothingness upon impact, Naruto realized with a start that he was only slightly behind Kiba.

"All right! You're going down, Kiba!" Naruto exclaimed triumphantly. Kiba looked utterly shocked at Naruto's sudden appearance, but as the shore came into sight, Naruto picked up speed and was hot on Kiba's tail. As Kiba jumped into his Tunneling Fang, Naruto created a chain around him with his clones, just as he had done for Chōji. Spinning through the air with Kiba, he was shaken up, but refused to let go.

"Pull back!" Naruto exclaimed as they came closer and closer to the finish line. He jumped over his opponent as his clones yanked back on Kiba, causing him to go flying backwards with a raised finger.

"Heeheehee!" Naruto giggled triumphantly. "A true ninja can use his opponent's strength against him!"

"Indeed he can!" Naruto's eyes widened as he realized that Akamaru was perched on his shoulder, only…

"Tunneling Fang!" Akamaru jumped off of Naruto, transforming back into Kiba and rotating across the home stretch to victory. Naruto could only stand aghast as Kiba stood before him on the shore with his stolen glory.

"What the…what the hell did you do?" Naruto exclaimed, stamping his feet in the water.

"Well, after I got ahead of everyone else, Akamaru and I switched places," Kiba grinned, his sharp teeth glittering in the growing darkness caused by the descending sun. "He raced for me while I hid in his jacket. As soon as you came along, I knew there was only one way a loser like you could have caught up to me, and that was by relying on the speed of someone else. I hopped on your shoulder when you caught Akamaru, and he pulled you into our trap. "

"Grr! I was so close!" Naruto howled angrily.

"CHUBBIES!" Naruto jumped up in surprise as Chōji crossed the finish line followed by Hinata. Chōji extended his arms in triumph weakly right before he collapsed. Hinata rushed to his side as the disqualified contenders joined them at the shore.

"Looks like Kiba won," Shikamaru said as he set Sakura down on the ground, "followed by Chōji, Hinata, and Naruto."

"Crap!" Naruto wailed, clutching his head in agony. "I forgot to cross the finish line after Kiba won!"

"…idiot…"

"Good work today, everyone," Guy said smiling as he looked around at the party of tired ninja. "I think everyone will be fine with a day or two of rest. If you still have energy, grab an exhausted comrade and let's head back to the Leaf."

"I'll let everyone know when we will meet again," Shikamaru added. "We can probably get another good day in before the finals begin without interfering with everyone's training schedules."

"Team Guy too?" Lee asked excitedly. As Shikamaru surveyed Neji, Tenten, and Lee, he smiled with a shrug.

"Why not? These exercises were originally for the Rookie Nine, but discrimination is just too troublesome."

**Winner: Kiba**

* * *

**Author's Note: Things have been so crazy lately! For starters, my brother graduated the other day! Plus, finals are finally over and now I'm taking on a wide variety of projects, ranging from reading, Spanish immersion, writing a novel, and working out. I even run around with a gallon of water on me! I wanna be big and buff like Rock Lee! *Ahem!* Moving on, it's great to be back on fanfiction and I'll try to get back to updating frequently. Deuces!**

**Crow**


	15. Discord in the Sand

**Chapter 15: Discord in the Sand**

**The War Between Villages Looms**

Temari, Kankurō, and Gaara had been summoned to meet with Baki in private; neither of them could ever remember a more urgent summons. Judging by the recent surge of military activity within the Sand, Temari had a strong hunch as to what was about to come, but her compassionate heart begged her to deny the truth of the unfolding circumstances that were enveloping her village.

"Thank you all for coming," Baki said as Kankurō took a seat close to Temari, as far away from Gaara as he could possibly get. Gaara merely stood with his arms folded, an emotionless stare fixed on his sensei. "As shinobi of the Sand, you three will have a critical role in determining the future of our village."

"Don't tell me…" Temari groaned with her eyes shut tight. Kankurō looked from his sensei to his sister nervously, his gut telling him the same thing that Temari had suspected all along. Baki sighed and bowed his head.

"It is all Lord Kazekage's will that the Sand will join with the Sound and war with the Leaf." A wave of horror washed over Temari and Kankurō as Baki elaborated. "This is an A+ rank mission; understand the importance."

"But why a war now!?" Temari yelled. "It took so much time and sacrifice to create the alliance agreement! To break that…many will die…"

"In the end, shinobi are tools of war," Baki responded carefully. "The alliance itself was an object that threatened our existence. You genin don't know about it very well, but the Wind Country's stupid minister used the alliance as a reason to forcibly weaken the military strength of the Hidden Sand Village. Because of the alliance agreement, the minister, fully trusting the Leaf, sent our clients to them and began drastically cutting back our funding because that way was cheaper." Temari stared at her sensei. She had never heard so much bitterness from their normally kindhearted but stern mentor.

"When the head is stupid, we, the hands and legs, suffer," Baki continued. "For our village to keep up, we had to raise the ability of each individual shinobi. That's why shinobi like you were created…Gaara." Temari and Kankurō felt a shudder at the almost forbidden subject of Gaara's…condition. Gaara offered no response to this breach of the unspoken taboo, though he turned away from Baki as though his interest had been lost.

"Right now, the existence of the Wind Country itself is in danger," Baki said. "Lord Kazekage, fearing the weakening of the Hidden Sand Village, has decided to join forces with the Hidden Sound Village. To teach the stupid minister of the danger the country is in and to measure the recovery of the Sand village, we will destroy the Leaf. If any more time passes, the Sand will lose the ability to fight the Leaf."

Baki's lecture finished, he offered the siblings a moment for the conditions of this new mission to sink in. Kankurō looked completely dazed while Temari was unable to stop her hands from trembling. Gaara looked as stoic as ever.

"This mission," Baki said, "we're counting on your work, Gaara."

"I know," Gaara responded. With his cooperation ensured, he headed for the door behind Baki.

"Where are you going?" Baki asked as Gaara reached the entrance.

Gaara eyed Baki coldly, gaging the importance of his response. "To test my existence," he said surly as he disappeared. Baki looked nervous at this proclamation, but could only shrug in surrender as he too left. Alone, Kankurō turned to Temari.

"What in the hell are we gonna do?" He asked urgently. "I like fighting, but war is on a completely different level. We're gonna get slaughtered!"

"Calm down, Kankurō!" Temari urged her brother as she regained control of her levelheaded mindset. She carefully thought over the situation. She was loyal to her village; there had never been any question of that, but ultimately, she did not agree that going to war was what was best for it. It wasn't that she could not understand what Baki was getting at, but there had to be an alternative.

"I bet Father plans for Gaara to awaken in the middle of the exam," Kankurō shuddered. Temari could only concur; Gaara's demon was the ultimate weapon of war no matter how she looked at it.

"I need to go talk to Baki some more," Temari said. "We've got to decide our next moves carefully…"

Kankurō nodded as Temari set off, looking around the village. She found Baki speaking in secretive whispers with several members of the advisory council before he looked up at her surprised.

"Sorry, I suppose my subordinates still have something they wish to discuss with me," Baki apologized to the councilmen.

"Not at all," an elder replied gruffly. "We'll continue the preparations later, Baki. See to it that your squad is properly prepared."

"Thank you, sir," Baki bowed his head and followed Temari to a secluded area. He chuckled slightly as she surveyed her surroundings cautiously, finding no trace of an eavesdropper. "I should have known you would be the one to have the biggest problems with the mission. How can I ease your mind, Temari?"

"Baki-sensei, I am able to recognize the weakness that the Sand has been facing thanks to our minister's incompetence, but I have to disagree with you about this…war should be used only as a last resort. We are not yet so desperately impoverished that we must rely on seizing resources from another village to sustain us!"

"That is true enough," Baki said, "but do you really believe things will get better if we don't go to war? The Sound is our ally in this, and since we will land the preemptive blow, we will be at the advantage. It's now or never, Temari."

"But the alliance agreement…" Temari tried to protest, but Baki cut her argument off with a raised hand.

"There is nothing to sustain the alliance agreement. Nothing whatsoever. If there were friendly relations between our countries, it would be one thing, but all that currently exists is the public pretension of unity. Underneath this appearance is an arms race, and we will always be losing unless we take this opportunity now."

"If we were to begin establishing a relationship between our villages, that could all change!" Temari exclaimed desperately. "Let me talk to my father, sensei. I'm certain I could convince him that this way is wrong!"

"Your father won't listen to you," Baki replied bitterly. "Nor would he listen to me. It is as I said: shinobi are tools of war. Even if there is a better way, the Kazekage has chosen this way. I have already taken the first blood with your exam proctor Hayate Gekkō."

"He's dead?" Temari asked horrified. If Baki had already killed Hayate, their fate in this war was indeed sealed. Baki spared a moment of silence for the now deceased Leaf warrior, before he placed his hand on Temari's head gently.

"This is the role we must play for the greater good. Please carry out the mission to the greatest extent of your abilities." As he began walking away, numerous scenarios ran through Temari's mind and she turned back to Baki.

"Gaara plays a critical role in this, doesn't he?" She yelled. Baki paused a distance away as he heard her question.

"We need Gaara to create chaos on the inside," Baki said. "The Hidden Leaf Village has the advantage of being on their own turf, so they possess resources and knowledge of the terrain that we can only know to a limited extent. Gaara needs to go berserk and destroy as much as he can so the advantages they have will diminish."

"So if Gaara is out of commission, this plan has to be aborted," Temari whispered to Baki's back as he returned to the council. "Interesting…"

* * *

Kankurō was sitting on the ground toying with Karasu's mechanisms, carefully installing poison-coated senbon inside its hands, when Temari finally came home. As she strolled into his room, he looked up at her with interest as she kicked off her shoes, grimacing as she stepped on the freshly scrubbed floor of his room with her sandy feet. Wasn't really her fault; this damn country's weather made it impossible to spend a day outside without becoming coated in sand and dirt.

"What'd you learn?" He asked as she slumped into his bed exhausted. She had tired bags beneath her eyes that were uncharacteristic of her. Of course, they weren't even remotely as bad as Gaara's, but Kankurō preferred keeping the distinctions as far apart as possible.

"I learned that if we are depending on Baki or Father, there is no getting out of this war," Temari mumbled. "They are set in their mindsets and will not consider strengthening the bonds of friendship between our villages."

"Damn…guess there's no getting around this," Kankurō groaned. Temari shook her head, causing her brother's pillow to topple out of bed.

"I didn't say that at all," she said. "Gaara has a key role in this, and without him, the entire operation falls apart."

"So what?" Kankurō raised an eyebrow.

"I…I'm fighting Gaara in the first round of the Chūnin Exam," Temari responded, her voice shaking as a migraine suddenly struck. At this, Kankurō had jumped to his feet.

"Don't even think about it, Temari!" He exclaimed at the very suggestion Temari was making. "Sister or not, Gaara won't hesitate to kill you!"

"Kankurō…" Temari fixed a determined gaze on her brother. "I'm aware of the risks, but if there is anything that I can do, I'm going to do it. I won't let Gaara kill me. I've just got to defeat him and this whole war should be avoided…"

"Well, I feel like you'd have better odds taking on the entire Hidden Leaf Village than Gaara," Kankurō replied pessimistically.

"You keep saying that, but to be honest, I've always been curious how I compare to him," Temari said thoughtfully. "Fear has kept me from finding out, but maybe courage will show me the answer."

"You're crazy," Kankurō shook his head hopelessly, though there was a touch of admiration in his voice.

"I love you," Temari said seriously, "as I love Baki, Father, and even Gaara. That's why, for the sake of our village, I'm prepared to put my life on the line. The higher-ups may be angry with me, but this is the path I have chosen. I'm not going to let our country go to war."

* * *

**Author's Note: After less than half a year of being published, I have difficulty comprehending the fact that this series already has 20K views. I'm excited to see how many more milestones it can achieve before its ending. Review, favorite, follow, and read as many times as you can so that I can see some of these milestones come to pass! The finals are about to commence, so be on the lookout!**

**Crow**


	16. Preemptive Encounter

**Chapter 16: Preemptive Encounter**

**Kyuubi and Gamabunta**

"At this rate…at this rate…I'll seriously die!" Naruto screamed as he fell down the gorge. The stalagmites had been polished to perfection by centuries of erosion in the presence of the waterfalls, making them all but impossible to catch on to. Even with chakra directed in his hands and feet, the smooth rocks slipped from his grasp. That stupid pervy sage…

"How dare you skip a day of training when I, the almighty Toad Sage, have taken you under my wing!" Jiraiya had exclaimed angrily when Naruto arrived the day after his training with his fellow Leaf genin.

"I wasn't skipping a day!" Naruto retorted. "I was just tired of wasting all my chakra attempting the Summoning Jutsu, so I decided to try training with some other people for a change."

"You're tired of this training, eh?" Jiraiya rubbed his chin wickedly. "Fair enough. Attempt to summon a toad for one more day and I can guarantee that I won't bother you with it again."

And so, Naruto had done it, taking Jiraiya at his word in the hopes that satisfying him would lead to training that involved techniques he could actually master, seeing as this Toad Summoning Jutsu was going nowhere. As soon as he had depleted his chakra however, Jiraiya had pushed him off a cliff!

"Dammittttttttt!" Naruto howled as he plunged to what would certainly be his doom. As the bottom of the gorge threatened to swallow him whole, his pupils dilated as his world went white.

* * *

From atop the cliff, Jiraiya watched Naruto fall. This had originally been a last resort tactic since it was far too risky to initiate under normal circumstances, but then again, Naruto's circumstances weren't normal. If he was anything like his mother, and from what Jiraiya had witnessed, he was, Naruto would profit far more in a life or death situation that required him to call upon his innate abilities, or in this case, his body's ability to function as the key to the Kyuubi's chakra…

"If you can come out of this alive, you will become far stronger than if we wait until the last minute for this…" Jiraiya muttered thoughtfully. He only feared that he had overdone it…

* * *

As Naruto whited out, he awoke in a dank and dark area. The floor was covered by a layer of water and though Naruto was physically dry, he extended his toes uncomfortably as he got to his feet, distracted by the unpleasant sensation of wet shoes. There were countless doorways, branching off into other countless directions. Naruto was confused for a moment, but only for a moment, until a powerful roar echoed from a nearby opening.

"This feeling…" Naruto felt his way towards the sinister aura carefully. "It's **that** chakra…" As he rounded the corner, he started as an enormous cage came before him. A paper seal was pressed carefully in the very center of it, sparking slightly as a dark mass glared dangerously at him, snarling as its eyes flashed. _W…what is that? _

"Hey, kid," a low voice rumbled, "come closer." As Naruto cautiously approached, he yelled in alarm as a large paw swiped towards him. The attack was thwarted by the seal, the gate between the two not so much as shaking, but Naruto had fallen to his hands and knees in surprise nonetheless.

"I want to eat you, but this damn seal…" The voice rumbled disgruntled, and at long last, Naruto understood. The source of the red chakra…

"You are…the Kyuubi!" Naruto exclaimed, though it was more to himself than to the imprisoned beast.

"For you to come here, what do you want?" The fox demon rudely asked.

Naruto fixed an angry glare on the creature that had made his life miserable for so long. The creature that had snuffed the lives Iruka-sensei's parents, that had made him the target of the village's prejudice, and that gave him the strength to do bad things when angered. The Kyuubi looked mildly surprised at Naruto's shift in demeanor.

"Hey, stupid fox," Naruto said with a feisty grin, "I'm letting you stay in my body, so how about you pay me some rent and lend me your chakra?"

The fox looked nonplussed for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Gwahahahahahahaha! If you die, then I die too, eh? And to threaten me like this…you have guts, kid!" Naruto gasped in alarm as a red, oozing liquid wrapped itself around him, fiercely enveloping him. "Alright, here's a gift for coming this far," the Kyuubi's voice faded as Naruto was consumed entirely by the shapeless mass. It was the red chakra!

As Naruto blinked and returned to the reality of his plight, he recognized the Kyuubi's chakra instantly and bit into his thumb, creating the necessary blood sacrifice, before activating the hand seals that would save his life.

"Summoning Jutsu!" He yelled. An enormous red toad materialized beneath Naruto, a large scar extending over his left eye, a blue happi vest adorning his figure, and a large kiseru pipe protruding from his mouth. Naruto celebrated as he dashed around on top of the toad's head, pleased to find that there was no tail, contrary to his failed tadpole summonings. He felt the chakra inside him stir and the Kyuubi growled within his mind.

_It's **him**._

"Him?"

_That pest thwarted me while I was attacking the village_, the Kyuubi hissed. _The chief toad of Mount Myōboku, Gamabunta…_

"Gamabunta…" Naruto muttered out loud, and he was surprised to discover that his knowledge of the toad's name was not lost on the already agitated creature.

"How ya know my name, ya lil punk?" Gamabunta howled. Naruto fell to his bottom in shock as Gamabunta began grumbling irritably. "Did Jiraiya put you up to this? That perverted bastard…"

"No…uhm, you see…I summoned you," Naruto said meekly. "I thought that you could help…"

"You?" Gamabunta asked disbelievingly.

"Yes!" Naruto said confidently, though he cringed as Gamabunta burst out laughing.

"Gahahahaha! You shouldn't lie, punk! Ain't no way in hell a lil shrimp like you could summon me!" Naruto's scowl grew as the toad continued to chuckle until finally, Naruto snapped.

"You piece of shit toad! How dare you say such things to me! I'm the one who summoned you, so I'm your master! Got that, stupid toad?" Naruto gulped as he realized that Gamabunta was glowering at him, and the Kyuubi was chuckling in his mind's consciousness.

"What the…who the hell do you think you're talking to? Huh? Some lil kid is saying that he's the master of boss toad, Gamabunta…YOU WANT YOUR HEAD RIPPED OFF? EH?" Gamabunta howled as he aggressively lunged forward, nearly sending Naruto flying.

"I'm sorry…Mr. Boss Toad," Naruto groaned weakly as he lay out on top of the toad's head.

"Well, calm down and I'll make you my underling," Gamabunta replied. "Be grateful!"

"Yes! Boss toad!" Naruto exclaimed respectfully. As Gamabunta's tongue wrapped around Naruto protectively, and he leapt from the gorge to safety, the Kyuubi burst into laughter, though Naruto's hazy consciousness made the fox's thoughts difficult to discern. "_Amusing_," "_gutsy_," and "_watch him closer_" were a few of the phrases he heard before Naruto finally passed out once more.

* * *

Naruto's eyes fluttered open as he realized a bright light was shining on his face. The strong overhead light had been the source of his irritation; if not present, he could have easily slept for several more hours peacefully. As he took in his surroundings, he realized he had a visitor.

"Pervy Sage…" he muttered. Jiraiya looked up from his magazine at Naruto pleased.

"It seems you have recovered just fine," Jiraiya said. Naruto chose to overlook the fact that the sage had been reading a porno magazine in front of a bedridden twelve-year-old child.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Naruto stretched. "How long have I been out."

"Three days," Jiraiya replied. "You have a little over a week remaining until the finals begin."

"I see…" Naruto groaned, but he recovered with a smile. "I did it though. I was able to use the Kyuubi's chakra."

"Very good, Naruto," Jiraiya returned Naruto's smile with his own.

"That fox sure likes to talk though," Naruto chuckled as Jiraiya opened his magazine back up. He promptly dropped it at Naruto's words.

"Likes to talk? What do you mean?"

"Well, even after I was able to make use of his chakra, he still said things to me," Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Is that a side-effect from unlocking the key to that chakra?"

"No," Jiraiya sounded intrigued. "I knew the previous host of the Kyuubi…extremely well as a matter-of-fact. As far as I am aware, the Kyuubi does not tend to have friendly relations with his host."

"I wouldn't call them friendly," Naruto speculated, "but he was definitely interested. Or maybe he was just bored…"

_Incredible._ Jiraiya thought to himself. _If Naruto is anything like his parents, simply by being around him, the Kyuubi will change. But how long will that take…?_

"I don't really feel like the Kyuubi is all that bad…" Naruto said, though he chuckled at the absurdity of the statement. "He killed many ninja…of course he's bad! But…he seemed bitter more than anything."

"You may be right, Naruto," Jiraiya replied kindly. "Well, anyway, I came here to tell you that your training with me is complete for now. You can take this last week for yourself to train on your own with what I have taught you." Jiraiya stood up and collected his magazine.

"Uhm, Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks…for everything." Jiraiya chuckled as he walked away.

"No need to be so formal, Naruto. You haven't seen the last of me."

Not even five minutes after the door shut behind him , it swung open with an unusual vigor as Kiba raced into the hospital room.

"Naruto! I heard you were hurt; how you feeling?" Kiba exclaimed. Akamaru jumped from the genin's shoulder onto Naruto's stomach and licked his arm. Naruto chuckled and pat Akamaru over the head.

"I'm fine, thanks."

"Fine enough for another training day?" Kiba asked excitedly. "We're gonna have one more day of training exercises before the finals begin."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Naruto asked with a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. "You can bet your ass I'll be there."

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry it has been such a long time since I have updated, but as I have announced on my profile, I am in in El Salvador for the rest of the summer, so updates will be far more limited than I would prefer. That said, I still intend to update Revamped and the Shadow Sleuth Chronicles biweekly or so.**

**Milestones: 50 Favorites! You guys are beautiful! One!**

**Crow**


	17. Melee Rumble IV

**Chapter 17: Unofficial Bouts: Melee Rumble IV**

**Exercise 4: Bandit Beat Down **

"What the hell is this?" Kiba exclaimed enraged. Word had been sent out to the other Leaf genin that there would be a final day of training, but there was a slight problem…"Where the hell is everyone?"

Naruto had been sitting on a log for about ten minutes now, glancing around distastefully. Kiba, Hinata, Chōji, Tenten, and Lee were the only ones that had bothered to show up. Hinata was timidly hidden behind a tree, clicking her index fingers together. Chōji was loudly munching on a bag of chips as Lee did pushups in the background. Tenten sighed deeply while Kiba paced impatiently, finally kicking a rock angrily.

"Only six people showed up? For real, what's going on?"

"Neji doesn't want to reveal any more secrets," Tenten said stiffly, "seeing as his opponent for the next round is training with us."

"That's what Shino said too," Hinata softly added.

"Ino's still in the hospital and Shikamaru said that training today would be too troublesome," Chōji smacked his lips greedily.

"Err…I don't know where Sasuke and Sakura are," Naruto weakly admitted.

Kiba let loose an enormous sigh. "Okay, forget about those guys. Guess we're just gonna do our own thing, but since we are missing about half of our numbers, there isn't a whole lot we can do…"

"Why don't we just fight?" Naruto suggested.

"Good idea," Lee exclaimed eagerly. "Let's train with our fists!"

Before a brawl could begin, however, a breeze passed over the group as a familiarly obnoxious voice interjected. "Pardon my intrusion, but I couldn't help but notice that you are looking for a training exercise." Looking up, the group saw Guy standing on a tree limb above them.

"Guy-sensei!" Lee exclaimed.

"Follow me," Guy said with a wink. "I have just the thing." Out of options and impatient, the genin followed the flamboyant sensei all the way back to the Academy, where they proceeded to the Mission Assignment Desk. The Third Hokage was shuffling through some papers as Guy eagerly bounded in with his underlings hot on his tail.

"So this is your team?" The Third asked as he surveyed the six genin. "Are you sure about this, Guy?"

"As sure as I've ever been!" Guy declared with a blinding grin.

"Then I suppose you have been approved for assignment." The Third stamped a scroll with his official seal before handing it to Guy.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage. Now come, genin! Operation: Bandit Beat Down is a go!"

"Bandit Beat Down?" Naruto's eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa, what are we doing?"

"I'll explain on the way," Guy impatiently sprinted away. The Leaf genin once again bounded after him to the amusement of the elders at the Mission Assignment Desk.

"So let me tell you about today's mission," Guy said after they were outside of the village. "A large group of renegade Mist assassins have been located close to the Leaf village. They aren't ninja, so they shouldn't be any problem for even a group of seasoned genin, but their force has been growing. We are to eliminate and capture every single one of them."

"How many are we talking about?" Kiba asked.

"They started out as a force of about 120 people, but that number is suspected to have grown greatly. The objective of this training session is to see who can eliminate the most people. I will be hiding in the trees to defect any surprise attacks or provide assistance if any of you find yourselves overwhelmed."

"Sounds fun," Tenten brandished her kunai brightly. "Let's get to it!"

The squad began to stealthily make their way into the top of the trees, careful not to make any sound as they began searching for their targets. Naruto reflected nostalgically as he trailed behind Lee. _Mist assassins, huh? Come to think of it, it was in order to fight back against Mist assassins that I learned how to focus my chakra and climb up trees…_

_That's not the only thing that happened in the Land of Waves, _a voice growled in his head. Naruto nodded solemnly. It was also where he had first been consumed by rage to the point of nearly breaking the seal of the Kyuubi. Yet it was that same rage that had allowed him to defeat Haku and escape with his life, all with the Kyuubi's unknown help.

_You've been protecting me this whole time, haven't you…? _Naruto mused to the caged fox in his subconscious. The beast snorted and turned his head.

_Don't be stupid. If you die, I die. That's all there is to it. _

_Yeah, I guess you're right. _Naruto sighed. The beast's motives were clean cut after all, but Naruto could not help but feel a sinking feeling of disappointment. He had people that looked after him: Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, even that jerk Sasuke! But for all of the lights that now illuminated his life, the Kyuubi had been the only one with him from day one. Did their relationship truly have to be one of animosity?

"Naruto!" Lee's voice brought Naruto back to reality as traces of an active camp reached their ears. "Let us think of this mission as a precursor to our upcoming battle!"

"You've got it, Bushy Brows!" Naruto exclaimed enthusiastically. Whoever could defeat the most would win…but as they arrived directly above the bandits' camp, it was clear to Guy that they had miscalculated.

"Damn, we knew they would probably have more followers than previously reported," Guy muttered, "but that's got to be at least 500 rogues!"

Though none of the Mist rogues were ninja, every last one of them appeared to be weathered and seasoned, scars of battle etched over the bodies of many of the men. Despite none of the rogues being currently equipped, there was a great variety of weapons nearby, including spears, swords, knives, crossbows, and garden hoes. Though none of these thugs could use chakra, they would likely still prove a challenge. Chained to a wall was a redheaded woman, bruised and topless, surrounded by four brutes with lust in their eyes and drool dripping down their chins.

"We should return to the village and recruit a few more ninja for this," Guy said to his subordinates. They all seemed to agree, at least, until Guy asked the question that would inevitably draw them into battle. "Where's Naruto?"

"Hey, assholes! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?!" Naruto's angry voice echoed below them. Looking down slowly, the Leaf ninja grimaced at the sight.

Naruto had dropped down from the treetops into the thick of enemy territory. His landing had been cushioned by the faces of two of the brutes that had been about to tag team the female hostage. The other two spun around and faced him in utter shock.

"What the hell –" One thug gasped before Naruto knocked him flat on his face with one solid right hook. The other thug charged but was kicked in the groin and downed within seconds as well. He turned to the female captive and smiled as she covered herself.

"Don't worry; it's gonna be okay now that I'm here!" Now that the shock of his appearance had worn off slightly, the rest of the bandits were grabbing their weapons with savagery. Naruto eyed them fiercely for a moment before a look of satisfaction came over his face and he thrust his fist into the air.

"What is he doing…?" The group muttered as all of Naruto's fingers went up with the exception of his pinky.

"Four!" He yelled out loud. The girl behind him blinked as the bandits exchanged confused glances. From the treetops, Rock Lee understood exactly what he meant.

"Naruto's winning!" He whined before jumping down.

"Lee! Don't be stupid!" Tenten exclaimed as she dove after him.

"N-Naruto!"

"Hinata! What are you doing?"

As Hinata and Kiba followed after their peers, Guy and Chōji were left alone in awkward silence that was occasionally interrupted by the crunch of a potato chip. "Aren't you going after them?" Guy finally asked.

"Nope."

The five genin stood back to back as the shell-shocked bandits finally recovered from the shock of five children dropping out of nowhere.

"You just couldn't wait to fight them, could you?" Kiba muttered.

"If you don't like it, just run away with your tail between your legs," Naruto retorted. Kiba looked scandalized at the very idea.

"Hell no! Your stupidity is the perfect excuse to tear these guys apart," Kiba growled. Akamaru jumped in front of him and barked at the rogues who took a step backwards, taken aback by the tiny dog's ferocity.

"Leaders! We have intruders!" The call echoed throughout the camp and the mob pulsed as two men made their way to the front to better examine the source of all the chaos.

The first man who appeared had his hand gripped on a blue handled katana, prepared to silence any intruders. His long light hair was topped by a purple beanie and his dark eyes had lines tattooed underneath that looked like the kind of cut his savage partner would inflict. His light blue jacket had numerous pockets.

The second man was larger than his companion but also carried a katana, albeit a white handled one. The left side of his mouth and the left side of his forehead had stitches scars and an eye patch rested over his right eye. Because he was bare-chested, spectators could marvel at the dark tattoo that twisted around his left arm and up his chest.

As the duo laid their eyes on Naruto, their mouths visibly dropped and their eyes widened panicky as recognition struck.

"You!"

Naruto scratched his head nonplussed. "Do I know you guys?"

"It's us!" The small one exclaimed irritably. "Zōri and Waraji!"

"Oh, hey!" Naruto laughed as he waved at them. "How've you been?"

"He still doesn't remember us…" Waraji turned to Zōri quietly. "Can I cut him, Zōri?"

"Wait a moment," Zōri replied. "We were Gatō's mercenaries."

"Hey! You were the two losers that tried to kidnap Inari's mom!" Naruto exclaimed accusingly as the memories flooded back. A vein pulsed in Waraji's forehead, but Zōri remained calm.

"Yeah, you really foiled our plans. Without Gatō's protection, we were declared outlaws and we all had to run, collecting followers as we moved towards the Leaf."

"Why the Leaf?" Hinata asked.

"Quiet, girly!" Waraji yelled. He licked his blade wickedly. "You'll be the first one I cut…"

"Waraji…" Zōri warned. He turned back to Naruto. "We were actually ordered to come for you."

"Ordered by who?" Naruto asked wide-eyed.

"That's none of your business," Zōri snarled. "We were going to sack your village, but since you're here now, you can make this easier on yourselves. Come with us and we'll leave your village in peace. If you don't, we'll kill every last one of you." Before Naruto could even respond, a loud crash shook the forest as Chōji dropped from the trees in his Human Bolder form. Several of the bandits were flattened, including Zōri.

"My legs!" Zōri coughed from the ground. "You…you broke my legs!"

Chōji regarded the bandits with a stony expression for a moment before he turned back to his awestruck friends. They maintained eye contact for several moments before Chōji raised his hand into the air. "Five!" He exclaimed. The genin looked at each other for a moment before they broke into a cheer and charged at the bandits. From his vantage point in the trees, Guy chuckled.

"They're really fired up!"

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5…" Tenten counted as she downed foe after foe with kunai, consistantly hitting them directly in the stomach without fail.

"Partial Expansion Jutsu!" Chōji howled as he swiped a good 15 to the ground with ease. He groaned as he realized several of them had successfully stuck their spears into his arm, but Hinata pulled them out without hesitation and threw them back at her opponents as she nursed Chōji's arm with her medicine.

Kiba watched as bandit after bandit was felled and he scowled. "We can't fall behind now, Akamaru!" His dog barked in agreement and the duo both utilized their favorite jutsu, becoming beast-men in the process. "Let's go!" Kiba exclaimed and the two rushed into the thicket, scratching, clawing, and even biting anyone that got in their way.

Naruto laughed at the efforts of his comrades. "This competition is as good as won! My Shadow Clone Jutsu will take care of this, no problem!" He exclaimed as he focused his chakra and activated the proper seals. Only ten clones appeared, much to his disgruntlement. "Hey! I was trying to bring out dozens of clones!"

_Humph, I have no interest in your competition, _the Kyuubi growled.

"Don't be that way!" Naruto complained. "Grr, fine! I'll do this myself then!" His clones charged in, landing blow after blow on bandits. Naruto attempted to count with his fingers. "Lesse…I had four and each clone is getting ten so that's fourteen and another ten is twenty-four and…two of my clones just got stabbed so…urrg! I'm no good at math!" He wailed as another clone was chopped by a garden ho.

"What's with these damn kids?" A bandit screamed out loud. It was still dangerous for Chōji to make use of his Human Bolder Jutsu, but he was nonetheless smashing through foes with his Partial Expansion Jutsu. Ultimately, it looked to be a competition between him and Lee, Lee who was dashing between each enemy and felling all with a well-placed blow to the kidney. He was doing nothing special, but his sheer speed allowed him to keep up with, no, surpass, the progress of his peers.

"We've got to eliminate the weaker ones first!" Waraji exclaimed. Though he knew that Naruto could kick his ass one-on-one, he was confident as five of them ran towards him swinging swords. Naruto easily sent them all flying, but did not notice the man running behind him with a knife aimed at the back of Naruto's neck.

_Naruto!_ The Kyuubi forced his chakra out like a cloak to protect Naruto, but it was quite unnecessary. Guy had seen the cheap attack in advance and knocked the blade out of the bandit's hand long before it was close to Naruto's throat. Naruto kicked the man in the chin, sending him summersaulting across the battlefield, before he started laughing out loud.

"You **do** care!"

_You were going to die!_ The Kyuubi growled.

"You can hear everything I hear and see everything I see," Naruto slyly replied before he giggled. "Guy-sensei wouldn't have let anything happen. You just wanted to protect me!"

_N-no, it was just a reflex!_ The fox exclaimed defensively, but Naruto smiled contently.

"We're going to be sharing the same body for a long time; let's be friends!"

_Friends?_ The Kyuubi echoed incredulously. _How ridiculous…_

"I'll be waiting for you to lighten up," Naruto responded with a thumbs up. Blinking, he realized he had been speaking out loud and found his gesture returned to him by a dazzling Rock Lee.

"Well, Naruto, it would appear that I have won this round!" Lee exclaimed.

"Huh?" Naruto glanced at the enormous pile of unconscious thugs Lee had grouped together. He had become focused on the Kyuubi and completely forgotten about the competition…

Guy jumped from the treetops and landed in front of Naruto and Lee. "Excellent job, you two! The others are chasing down the stragglers, but this mission is essentially over, with Lee's victory of course. Lee, return to the village and inform Lord Hokage that we have captured all of the Mist rogues. While you're at it, bring Ibiki Morino here as well."

"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee exclaimed before he took off for the village.

Guy stooped down in front of the injured Zōri with a look of grim satisfaction on his face. "Better hope you crack soon or you're going to be in a world of pain."

* * *

**Author's Note: The finals are fast approaching! Please bear with me; these Unofficial Bouts have had the dual purpose of allowing me to experiment with different types of fights and alter the future course of the ****Chūnin Exam****. This chapter would have been up sooner, but my computer screwed up and I lost two pages and my motivation with it. Show me love guys! Oh, and before I forget, I am looking for a good cover image for Revamped, as well as several other fanfictions of mine. I cannot draw especially well, but if you can and would like to honor me with permission and a good image, I will credit you properly and be sincerely thankful. Hit me up with messages if you want to design or already have the perfect cover for any of my fanfictions!**

**Crow**


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